The Guardian
by MellyHorror-Salvatore-Northman
Summary: Victoria Vega is a fairy and she is next line for her Kingdom's throne, as soon as she gets married, but someone is trying to kill her and she's sent away with a body guard, Jadelyn West, until the hit is called off. When Tori finally returns will she be able to go through with the wedding or will someone else steal her heart?
1. Prologue

**The Guardian **

**Victoria Vega is a fairy and she is next line for her Kingdom's throne, as soon as she gets married, but someone is trying to kill her and she's sent away with a body guard, Jadelyn West, until the hit is called off. When Tori finally returns will she be able to go through with the wedding or will someone else steal her heart? **

**Rated: T **

**Prologue-**

"Jadelyn!" there was a small, childish giggle from behind a statue. A tall woman with curled brown hair paused, blue eyes searching the area before her. She spotted a tuft of pink behind the statue and grinned, "Jadelyn, where are you?" she slowly wandered away, the girl snuck out from behind the statue and started to run down the hall, squealing happily.

The woman snuck up behind her, circling her arms around the girls body, she shrieked as her feet were lifted from the ground, "Momma!" she squealed as the woman attacked her face with kisses.

"Your Highness, King Oliver is here to seek your council." A Guardian interrupted politely, "he is waiting in the chamber room."

"Of course, thank you Guardian Darren. If you wouldn't mind, could you escort Jade to her riding lesson?" he nodded as the Queen set her daughter on the ground, much to the young girl's disappointment. The Queen left the pair behind, her cloak billowing behind her.

"Come, Princess." She pouted but walked beside him, dutifully taking his hand as they walked. The action startled him momentarily, but he held her hand as they walked from the castle out to the stables where her trainer was waiting for her. The Guardian stayed with her as she rode.

As a Guardian your job was to specifically protect a member of the royal family, in Darren's case it was Princess Jade. Normal members of the royal guard were assigned to general protection and trained for battle. But once a guardian became a guardian, they remained one until death.

After her riding lesson Jade once more took the guardians hand, walking with her toward the kitchens through the servants passages. Jade bounced along beside him, chatting happily about adventures in her story book. When they made it to the kitchen she boosted herself up onto the table and told stories while the cook made her lunch.

She ate her meal while one of the cooks told her a story and then walked with Darren toward her study chambers. He stood off in the corner while she was taught, sitting in her chair with her feet swinging, her hair pulled back into a thick braid, green eyes wide as she soaked up knowledge.

By the time her lesson was over a nurse came to take her to her bath, Darren stood guard outside the room, listening closely for anything going wrong inside. When the Princess finally bounced out of the room they made their way to the dining room where Jade sat with her parents and two older people she did not know. Beside them sat a boy with dark hair and dark eyes.

She beamed at him, introducing herself with a happy smile as brown curls bounced around her head, "My names Jade, it's nice to meet you!"

"Beckett." The boy replied grouchily. She scowled at him but the look was gone quickly as she turned to her mother beside her, beaming once more, waiting to be introduced to their other guests. When she wasn't introduced she remained quiet, as was expected, and kept her eyes on her meal.

Her parents talked to the strangers, saying things Jade couldn't hope to understand, so she swung her legs under the table and told herself a tale as they ate. Jade never had any problem tuning out the world and joining her own. She liked things there, they were cheerful and happy, no rules, freedom to speak.

When she was dismissed from dinner Darren took her to her chambers where a nurse prepared her for bed. Her mother didn't come to bid her goodnight, so Darren tucked her in and told her a wonderful story that put her straight to sleep, only to be roused a few hours later.

"Come on, princess." Darren whispered, he lifted her from her bed as she tried to wake herself up. He carried her through the halls and down a secret passage into a secret room where her mother and father waited for her. She looked up at them with scared green eyes.

There was no rain on this night of tragedy as would traditionally fit, in fact it was a dark but clear starry night as a member of the royal guard carried a small bundle through the skies, wings working double time to move swiftly through the night unnoticed. The child in his arms had long ago fallen asleep, but awoke as he descended.

His boots hit the ground with a faint thud and he fell into a bow automatically, cradling the girl to his chest. A man in a magnificent coat approached him arms clasped behind his back adding the sense of power to his presence, "Guard Darren of Trace, what is your business here?" without a word the guard straightened, revealing the young girl in his arms.

"I bring the Princess of Trace, your Majesty." The king's eyes widened as the young princess looked up at him with blue eyes, so innocent, so pure, her hair black as night hung to her shoulders.

"The Monarch?" he asked Darren, eyes locked with the little Princess'.

The Guardians eyes flicked to the girls face, unhappy to see the stone-cold look seeping into her features, "they've fallen, your Highness, and transferred to her." the King nods, taking a knee himself to be at the girls level. His guards give him confused glances.

"What is your name, sweetheart?" he asks her softly.

"Jadelyn West. And I'm going to be part of the royal guard!" she boasts; he chuckles at her, rubbing her shoulder. He turned to his guards and ordered them to go to the aid of the kingdom of Trace as he stood, taking Jadelyn's hand in his own.

"Welcome to your new home, Jadelyn, I am King David. And I'd like you to meet my daughter, Princess Victoria. Maybe one day you'll grow up to protect her, as part of my royal guard." Jadelyn smiled up at him, but it did nothing to warm the coldness in her eyes. She broke away before the guard took off, throwing herself at Darren who caught her just in time.

She crushed his neck with all her strength. He hugged her back and kissed the top of her head before pushing her back toward the king. She refused to move until her eyes could no longer find him in the night sky, and then she allowed herself to be tugged along into the castle. He brought her to a bedroom with a bed as plush and large as hers.

As soon as the door opened a girl with dark brown tresses and chocolate eyes sat up in her bed, blinking her eyes to focus her vision, "Victoria, I'd like you to meet someone very important. This is Jadelyn, and she'll be staying with you for a few months."

Victoria tipped her head to the side, studying the girl in front of her, and then smiled, "it's nice to meet you Jadelyn."

"It's nice to meet you, too, Princess." Jadelyn replied. She was given a smaller bed beside Victoria's and tucked in for the rest of the day. She slept straight through until the next morning, Victoria by her side.


	2. Chapter 1

**The Guardian**

**Victoria Vega is a fairy and she is next line for her Kingdom's throne, as soon as she gets married, but before her wedding someone tries to kill her and she's sent away with a body guard, Jadelyn West, until the hit is called off. When Tori finally returns will she be able to go through with the wedding or will someone else steal her heart?**

**Rated T**

**Chapter 1**

Princess Victoria stood beside her window, brown eyes gazing out over her kingdom. Behind her a servant was tying the laces on her gown for the ball tonight where she'd finally meet her betrothed. A disheartened sigh escaped her mouth at the thought. She'd heard of his reputation and wanted nothing to do with him and she certainly didn't want him helping her rule over Vallestia and its people.

The servant's hands shook as she laced up the strings, she was new at this and perfectly helpless when it came to tightening the top so it didn't slip off of the princess' chest. She bit her lip, hoping she'd finally gotten it tight enough, but as soon as she'd tied the bow at the bottom the Princess's hands shot up to hold the top of the dress up, crying out in frustration.

"I'm so sorry, let me-." the chamber door slamming open cut the nervous woman off and her eyes went wide seeing the rather angry woman filling the doorway. She instantly moved away from the princess, who spun to see who was standing in the doorway.

"Jadelyn! Finally someone who can lace up a corset, please help me." Victoria crossed the room in four quick strides and spun her back toward the other woman expectantly. With an angry glare at the servant Jadelyn laced up the strings of the corset in a matter of seconds. The servant stood in the corner with her head bowed, eyes on her shoes.

"Get out." Jadelyn demanded of the girl, her patients was gone now. The princess was due to be down in the dinning hall in five minutes and her hair was still not done, the girl scampered out silently. Victoria looked into the mirror and cried out in frustration, her hands covering her face, "calm down, it's not that bad." Jadelyn reassured in a calm voice.

She stepped up to her princess and, without waiting for permission, removed the pins from her hair so the long curls fell down her back. Then she took the front strands of her hair and pulled them straight back on either side until they met in the back where she pinned them together. Biting her lip she surveyed her quick work and deemed her hair acceptable. Victoria glanced at the mirror and smiled relieved.

Victoria ran her hands over the soft fabric of the dresses skirts, admiring the way the skirts flowed from her hips and the way the dark blue dress made her brown eyes seem even darker. She turned to look at her companion who was in a dress the color of red wine. It had long flowing sleeves that no doubt hid knives and was corset less so the girl could move her body freely. Her dark black hair was done in an elegant French braid that wrapped from her left temple around the back of her head and then her hair flowed down across her shoulder after the braid stopped.

"Are you ready, princess?" Jadelyn asked putting on a pleasant tone Victoria knew was faked. The last thing the girl wanted to be doing was wearing a dress and going to a ball, but she was put on guard duty, as it would be less obvious to have a woman of the Princesses age hanging around with her than it would be with the whole guard circling her.

Outside of her chambers two men waited to escort them to dinner, Sir Andre Harris and Sir Robert Shapiro. Jadelyn gave them both the evil eye when they struggled to not laugh at the sight of her in a dress. Andre offered the Princess his arm, she hooked her gloved arm through his and they walked down the hall ahead of Jadelyn and Robert.

The dining room was overflowing with people already, all waiting to be seated. Everyone turned and bowed at the princess's entrance and remained that way until she was behind her seat. In the chair to her right would be Jade, and to her left was the head of the table where her father, King David, would sit. Across from her would be her mother, Queen Holly.

Everyone seemed to go silent at once, you could hear a hair pin hit the floor it was so quiet. The large French doors opened and the King and Queen of Vallestia strode into the room, bringing with them the air of power. Everyone bowed and curtsied at their arrival, not returning upright until the King and Queen sat, and not sitting until the Princess was sitting, too.

Victoria kept her eyes on her empty plate while they waited for the meal to being. She finally took notice of the people beside her mother, a woman with a severe face and harsh eyes that had long black hair in an elegant half up-do, a man with a round face, bald head and greedy eyes, and a younger man with a mess of black hair, a charming face and dark eyes she didn't trust.

This must have been King and Queen Oliver and their son, Prince Beckett. He was fidgeting in his seat, his eyes casting all over the room. He looked ready to jump at the slightest disturbance, and in fact did when King David snapped his fingers to begin the meal.

Jadelyn took note of this, eyeing him suspiciously, eyebrows knitted in confusion as she tried to place the faces she was seeing. "King James, Queen Cynthia, I'd like to introduce you to my daughter, Princess Victoria." Victoria gave a respectful bow of her head, her eyes watching strands of her hair fall dangerously close to her plate.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, your Highnesses." Her voice was soft but it held an air of power to it that made Jadelyn glance at her in surprise. The girl was usually soft spoken, and had she not known she was the princess she could have mistaken Victoria for a commoner.

"And I would also like to introduce Lady Jadelyn Smith." Jadelyn fought the urge to scowl at the title, used to being referred to by the King as simply Jadelyn, and the addition of her fake last name baffled her. Instead of scowling she bowed her head respectfully in turn at both the King and Queen and settle on a simple nod in the direction of the Prince. She had a vague memory of them at a dinner table like this, but no reason why, she just assumed they'd come to speak with her parents.

The meal continued with boring conversation neither of the girls listened to. Prince Beckett attempted several times to start a conversation with the princess but Victoria acted as if she was invested in what her father was saying. After the meal the King and Queen's paraded out, followed by Princess Victoria dragging along Andre so that she could put distance between Beckett and herself which left Jadelyn to exit with him, as Robert had vanished during the meal. The Prince was fidgety still, his eyes darting about the castle as they walked toward the ball room.

"Your wedding is in three days time and you're already nervous." Jadelyn observed in a sarcastic tone. Beckett gave her a reproachful look that was met with throaty laughter from the girl who floated off to join the line of those entering the ball, which had started 15 minutes ago.

She would have preferred to slip in another way so as not to be announced to the room but was left with no such choice as she was entering just before the royal party, now stuck with Andre. She hooked her arm through his, her hand resting on his wrist as they walked to the top of the giant stair case.

The herald smiled warmly at them before turning toward the room, "presenting, Sir Andre Harris and Lady Jadelyn Smith." He called out across the room, some people looked up, other's had already been looking. Jadelyn kept her eyes straight forward as she descended with Andre, making a beeline for a less crowded part of the room as the Prince was announced with Victoria behind them.

"Presenting, His Royal Highness Prince Beckett Oliver of Gregori and Her Royal Highness Princess Victoria Vega of Vallestia." Jadelyn turned around to watch them come down the stairs. Victoria looked completely comfortable unless you looked into her eyes which betrayed her and showed she was ready to flee at any second.

Behind her King and Queen Oliver of Gregori descended and finally the herald called out the introduction of King and Queen Vega of Vallestia. The room was silent as this pair made their way down the steps and once they reached the bottom music began to play, the King and Queen started the first dance, followed by the Oliver's, Prince Beckett and Princess Victoria and finally Jadelyn and Andre. Everyone in the room made their way onto the dance floor after that.

"Quit looking around like that. People might being to worry." Andre whispered as he twirled Jadelyn around the dance floor, when he pulled her closer she glared at him and he shut up as she continued to survey the room. She jerked her head in the Princess' direction, silently telling Andre to move them that way.

He obliged and swiftly cut across the floor to dance beside the Prince and Princess. Unfortunately for Jadelyn it was at a partner shift so she was now dancing with Prince Beckett. He was half paying attention to the dance, his eyes sweeping across the room in the most obvious way possible. He nearly missed the change back he was so distracted, when Andre pulled Jadelyn back to him she leaned into whisper in his ear, "he's acting very strange, like he's expecting someone to jump out and grab him." And she ended their dance, stalking away to a better spot in the room.

Victoria was relieved when she could finally take a break from dancing with the prince, and intended on avoiding him for the rest of the night if she could. Three hours into the ball and she'd managed to do just that, but he'd started looking for her now, and spotted her, too. Quickly she ducked out the doors and into the garden in an attempt to lose him.

She sprinted quickly across the garden and around to the back by the staff kitchens. He followed her, she realized with dismay when she heard feet crunching on gravel. "I'm sorry I needed some-." Her sentence stopped short and turned into a horrified intake of breath that she was planning on using to scream when she realized it was not Beckett who followed her.

The man behind her had short unevenly cropped hair dark eyes, scars all over his body and muscle so huge she knew she was done for no matter who heard her scream. The man was holding a short dagger in his hands and moved quickly with purpose toward Victoria whose instincts took over. She spun on her heel, gathered her skirts and ran farther away, cursing her birthday being so far away. _What I wouldn't give for my wings. _

The man was quick and mere feet from her when she tripped on an up turned stepping stone. She fell toward the ground face first thinking her final prayers, she was sure she was a goner when she felt a body land on top of hers and heard a female cry out in pain, but she realized moments later the body on top of her was much softer than any mans and the cry was not her own. She turned her head enough to see a flash of red material as the body lifted from her and there was sounds of a scuffle in the shadows of the tree she couldn't see and then a mans cries.

"Who sent you?" she heard a familiar voice growl. Jadelyn.

"I'm a dead man." The man grunted, "So I guess you'll never know."

"You. Will. Tell. Me." she demanded. She sounded out of breath, but Victoria's eyes couldn't locate her or the attacker in the darkness.

"Not a chance." There was a strangled noise that sounded like someone choking on water and then Jadelyn was in front of her, roughly pulling the princess to her feet. People were starting to spill into the garden now; Jadelyn shoved Victoria roughly into the servant's kitchen and into the hidden hallway that led to her father's chambers. Jadelyn was walking fast, holding her arm hissing in pain every so often, as she dragged Victoria roughly behind her.

She pushed the door open with her shoulder and dragged Victoria into the room with her, pushing the door shut behind her whilst Victoria ran to her parents, tossing her arms around her mother. Queen Holly held her daughter close, checking for injuries while King David yelled at his Royal Guard for letting that man slip onto the grounds.

Everyone was in a panic, the King was yelling orders at his guards, outside they could hear people running about. Once the King was done yelling and had sent the majority of the guard was sent out he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Your Highness, you have a cut on your wing." The King glanced at Jadelyn confused before someone rushed to examine the shimmering black wings jutting from the kings back. As if the mention of wings had reminded her, Queen Holly's wings disappeared. Victoria was slowly starting to calm down and worked on reassuring her parents she was unharmed.

It wasn't until Andre went up to smack Jadelyn's arm to compliment her and she cried out and hit his hand away that Victoria remembered Jadelyn was hurt. She pulled away from her mother and moved quickly to Jadelyn's side, seizing the arm she had been cradling protectively.

"It's just a scratch." Jadelyn told her, trying to pull her arm away, but Victoria grabbed the cloth where she could see a tear and ripped the long sleeve straight down, revealing a rather nasty wound on Jadelyn 's upper arm.

"Go get a healer!" the King ordered, Andre and Robert left to go do so, leaving the King, Queen, and Princess alone with Jadelyn.

"I can bandage it later, I heal quickly. This is the fourth attempt on the Princesses life; I think that takes precedence to my injury. She needs to go into hiding until the hit is called off." Jadelyn wretched her arm from the Princesses grasp and placed her hand over the wound.

"Jadelyn, are you suggesting what I think you are?" King David asked.

"I'm suggesting you let me take her to be a commoner for a short amount of time, at least until its safe. You have to trust me, its better this way. I cannot tell you where we will be going, but I swear to you I will keep her safe." Jadelyn met his gaze steadily, the deep brown orbs swimming with sadness.

"David, we must." Holly said, walking up to her husband and placing her hand gently on his shoulder, "I will not lose another daughter because you're too proud to admit we can't protect her."

David looked down at his daughter who looked frightened beyond belief at being sent off with a woman, who may have saved her life, but was the most unpleasant person she'd ever met. "I'm sorry Victoria. You must go now." He kissed her forehead before Holly wrapped her arms around her in a crushing hug, "Jadelyn, though you are not her Guardian, I entrust her to you and you must help her along with her training with her magic, her knowledge of the lands. Use this as a learning experience, Victoria."

"Let's go." Jadelyn offered the princess her hand this time, Victoria was not shaking, but her fear was evident in her eyes. Instead of acting on it though, she straightened her back and took Jadelyn's hand, "we will return when it's safe."

Jadelyn pulled Victoria down another secret passage, this one leading out to the stables, "I've had these bags packed since the second assassin." Jadelyn explained when she tossed a hay stack aside and grabbed two saddle bags.

Jadelyn made quick work of saddling up her horse, a dark black creature with a white patch on its snout. She hooked the saddle bags on and passed the princess a dark cloak while slinging one around her body.

Much like what Victoria had done to the sleeve, Jadelyn tore her dress, this time taking the first few layers of her skirts off so she could swing her leg over the horse. She extended her hand to the princess who was pulling the hood of the cloak over her head; the princess took her hand and swung a leg over the horse, her arms going around Jadelyn's waist as they took off.

She turned as they passed through the gates, sending one last longing look at her home before it was swallowed whole by the forest. Tears rolled down her face, the only sign that she was scared, because her features remained impassively cool as every princess was taught how to do.


	3. Chapter 2

**Victoria Vega is a fairy and she is next line for her Kingdom's throne, as soon as she gets married, but before her wedding someone tries to kill her and she's sent away with a body guard, Jadelyn West, until the hit is called off. When Tori finally returns will she be able to go through with the wedding or will someone else steal her heart?**

They rode for three days straight, only stopping to give the horse a rest, until they reached a small town Victoria had never heard of, "you'll need to change out of that dress before we enter." Jadelyn told her as they dismounted, Victoria wobbling on unsteady legs, "it is way too fancy." Since Jadelyn's dress had been torn and ripped it did not hold the same regal look as Victoria's.

She dug around in their saddle bags until she found was she was looking for, a plain dress fit for a commoner, she grabbed herself one as well and changed quickly while Victoria stared at the dress in her hands.

"I can't do this." Victoria whispered.

"I'm not giving you a choice. Don't make me undress you." Jadelyn warned sternly.

"But Jadelyn, I _can't._" Victoria looked at her with pleading brown eyes, something that worked on everyone else, but when Jadelyn's cold blue eyes met hers she realized the look would not work.

"Do not call me that. Call me Jade and you will go by Tori, understand? We're not in the palace anymore. You are not a princess; you are just Tori of Drek. Do you hear me?" Jade demanded for about the fifteenth time since they'd left the castle, Tori was avidly ignoring her.

"Yes." Tori whispered caving in finally, "Please, untie the corset." Jade walked up behind her and brushed Tori's long brown hair over her shoulder before her fingers made quick work of the dresses laces. As soon as Tori was redressed Jade grasped her wrist, tugging her out of the woods, leaving the dress behind as quickly as she could.

Jade and Tori walked beside the horse into town, nobody glanced in their direction, nobody cared about strangers, they were plain and uninteresting. Travelers came through this part of the country all the time. Jade's eyes were on one thing and one thing only, an inn where she could finally rest. It took three tries to find one suitable. A small inn that looked rather comfortable but not too posh. When they stopped outside a small boy rushed up to her.

"Can I take your horse to the stables for ya?" he asked, glancing at the horse in awe, brushing his sandy blonde hair from his eyes.

"Please, and take good care of him, he's had a long journey." She removed her bags and her sword from the horse and tossed the boy two gold pieces before she and Tori made their way inside. An older woman was behind the counter, she smiled at them when they entered.

"Can I get you a room?" Jade nodded, stepping up to discuss the cost whilst Tori roamed the small place. There were tables set up all over, but only three or four customers. A small window showed the commoners bustling about the town doing their daily tasks and in a corner two men played a game she didn't know.

"Tori." Confused she looked around for this Tori person until her eyes landed on Jade and she remember she was Tori "come on." Jade stomped up the stairs and Tori rushed after her, not keen on being left behind in a strange place. There room was the last one at the end of the hall, over looking the stables and came at a fair price for as long as they needed it.

"The bath is already filled; feel free to use it first." Jade told Tori, walking over to the small dressing table. She put her bags on the ground and pulled out a hair brush while Victoria disappeared behind the changing screen where the bathtub was.

Jade sat down on the shabby stool in front of the table and carefully undid the braid in her hair, bit by bit and then brushed out her long black locks until they were shiny and smooth. They fell down her back in waves almost to her rear now that it wasn't pulled up into the large intricate braid. Jade's eyes flicked to her arm in the reflection, wrapped in a make shift bandage that was a brownish red color from soaked up dried blood.

She pulled the bandage off and used water from her canteen to wash her skin clear. The wound was nearly healed, only a small scab now, and it hardly hurt at all. She just bled easily, "it's getting late. Hurry up." Jade ordered, she stood up from her seat and moved over to one of the two beds, crawling up it and sitting near the headboard, glaring at the changing screen.

"I hate this." Tori answered her voice somewhere between whiny and pleading, "I want to go home." The tone did not cause Jade to bend to her will like it did with others.

"How about I just kill you now and save the assassin work?" Jade offered snidely. She heard the water shift and soon the princess' glaring face peeked around the changing screen, "what?"

"That really isn't anyway to talk to me." Tori replied snidely, not used to be around someone who blatantly ignored every order she ever gave her. She'd known Jadelyn ever since she could remember, she'd been a child of a guard and the first night she'd met her Victoria recalled staying by her side at night and through the next day while the girl slept fitfully.

Now that innocent, frightened girl was glaring at her a way that unnerved Tori, "I'll talk to you however I please. Your title means nothing when you're on the run." Jade demanded, Tori peered around the screen, "and you better keep that hidden, nobody needs to know your royalty."

Tori glanced down to see what Jade was talking about. Her chain was swinging from around her neck, the moonstone glinting in the torches light, "I forgot I had it." Her fingers wrapped around the small stone, "it's been with me ever since I was born, I just don't think about it."

"Yeah, well only royals get those stupid things at birth, so hide it at all times." Jade demanded as she got up from the bed and crossed to the window to peer down into the stables; she could just barely see her horse from there.

Behind her Tori pulled her dress back on, hiding her chain beneath it while glaring at Jade's head. The woman was rude, and Tori didn't like it one bit, but couldn't argue that she was right; Tori's title would only get her killed out here. She'd tucked away the stone blessed to her by the high Priestess and vowed to keep it tucked away for the rest of the journey.

"How did you know what it was?" Tori called to the girls back, "a lot of people wear jewelry."

"I'm not stupid, Tori. Go to bed, tomorrow we can stay here for a little but then we have to move on." Jade listened to Tori crawling into her bed and doused the torch light, boosting herself up into the window frame. The cool night breeze lifted the shorter strands of her hair, sending them dancing across her face.

About ten minutes after Tori crawled into the bed Jade heard her snoring lightly and she took the chance to empty the bathwater and call up someone to refill the tub for her. She made sure the door was locked tightly before she pulled off her gown and hung it over the change screen. Carefully she stepped into the warm water and submerged herself, scrubbing her skin quickly followed by her hair, which took a lot of time to clean, the process calmed her.

Jade had been so preoccupied with her bath that once she stepped out she didn't notice Tori sitting in the window, "what are you doing?" Tori turned her head toward Jade and shrugged. Jade noticed she was toying with the moonstone on her necklace and glared at it. Tori's eyes went wide when she finally took in the other girl who was standing before her with nothing but hair covering her pale body.

Tori's cheeks turned crimson and she was going to turn away, she even made the motion to move her head but her eyes caught sight of something hanging around the girl's neck to just below her bust, "What is that…" Tori stood from the window and made her way toward Jade who took a few steps back giving Tori a confused look.

"What is w-." Tori's fingers wrapped around the stone hanging from Jade's necklace, tan fingers brushing pale skin, a chunk of a green gem incased in silver not unlike her own hung from the girls neck, "let that go." Jade slapped Tori's hand from the necklace and stepped back again.

"Is it yours?" Tori asked, "Did you steal it from somebody?" she accused, hands on her hips as her face turned angry.

"No." Jade growled eyes narrowing into a look that scared most people, "it was my mothers." Jade snatched her dress from the changing screen and pulled it down over her head, "I wouldn't mind too much if you shut up and pretended you didn't see it."

Tori persisted, "Only royal families get those Jade! And what stone is that? I've never seen one as green." Tori asked, ignoring the woman's earlier request as she followed her around the screen.

"It's a jade." She replied shortly, "Like my name, my mother named me after it; it was blessed to her as a child." Jade ground her teeth, eyes narrowed.

"Was your mother a royal?" Tori sounded excited.

"I don't wish to speak about it." Jade stated flatly, turning her back on Tori and grasping the stone in her hand, she then marched over to the bed she'd claimed earlier and laid down, squeezing her eyes shut and praying the world would drop out from under her or a hole would open up and swallow her.

"I've upset you. I'm sorry." Tori chews on her lip, "moonstone is supposed to help you better understand the emotional needs of others."

Jade snorted, "Yeah well jades are supposed to help you live a longer life, the priestess is a liar. These stones are nothing good, just shinny baubles to show off power, as if you don't have enough trinkets to do so already. Now shut up and sleep." Tori shut her mouth.

On the bed beside her Tori settled down to sleep as well, falling asleep long before Jade even considered trying to fall asleep herself. She only slept for a few hours; she was up again before the sun was up and pulling on a pair of trousers and a blue tunic from her bags. She put her hair up in half a French braid and then glanced at Tori still sleeping on her bed.

She slipped out the door and pulled it shut tightly behind her slipping down the staircase nearly silent and out the front door. She walked to a building two doors down that had a sign above it that read 'Tailor'. Jade pushed open the door and stepped inside, peering around.

"Can I help you?" a large man asked, appearing from seemingly out of nowhere.

Jade nodded, pulling out some parchment from the waistband of her pants, "I need six sets of trousers and tunics and three dresses for these measurements. And six sets and three dresses for these." She passes them over, "plain colors, whatever you've got. How long do you think that will take?"

"At least four days. Maybe five." Jade pulled out her coin purse and tossed the man a handful of coins.

"As quickly and efficiently as possible." Jade demanded, her eyes daring him to defy her.

"Of course, they will be ready as soon as possible. Three days time at most." He told her. Jade nodded in thanks and walked out heading straight back to the Inn. The woman from yesterday is wiping down tables now.

"Has my companion come down?" Jade asks in a polite tone.

The woman didn't look up as she answered, "No, I think she's awake though. I heard someone singing earlier." Jade thanked the woman before heading upstairs, she opened the door enough to slip into the room barely and closed the door.

"Good morning." Tori greeted cheerfully, Jade just rolled her eyes as she made her way to the window to look down at the stables, "what's wrong with you?" Tori inquired, she was on her bed toying with her long hair.

"We'll be here for awhile; the tailor is working on some clothing for us. I have a place we will go right after this, you won't have to hide out like you will here. Three days max, you need to keep a low profile, alright?" Jade didn't look at her when she answered.

"Why are you doing this?" Tori questioned, clumsy fingers dropped from her hair with a pitiful sigh.

"My King asked me to." Jade replied, like she had the other six times Tori had asked her, "I'm sorry if you feel trapped here, but you will _not _leave this room." She fixed Tori with a stony look.

"Whatever." Tori grunted, pulling her knees up to her chest and turning away from Jade. The guard rolled her eyes at Tori's new attitude, thankful she was at least silent. The girl had talked Jade's ears off during their travels. Now she sat silently curled up into a ball on her bed, which suited Jade just fine.

She sat in the window and looked out over the town, her fingers absently playing with the jewel hanging around her neck. Below her she could see her horse, the boy from the day before was brushing him down. A smile graced her face for a split second before she turned and stared back across the town.

The next three days the girls stayed in the room unless they went downstairs to get food. On the fourth morning Jade got up and walked back down to the tailor to check on their clothing, leaving the sleeping princess behind. When she opened the door and stepped in the man looked up, giving her a prideful grin.

He showed off his work and Jade appraised it with a careful eye. She tugged on some seams, just to make sure they'd hold and rubbed the fabric between her fingers. When she's satisfied she takes the clothes, gives the man two more gold pieces and sets out on her way. When she gets back to the inn she goes into their room, takes out their old clothing and packs it into their bags.

Tori is still asleep in her bed, wrapped around her pillow breathing slowly. It's hardly past dawn and Jade knows the girl was up into the late hours of the night crying about her family, much like she had every other day.

Jade lets her be and peers out the window into the stables, below she can see the stable boy tending to her horse. The center of Jade's back ached, much like they had been for months, as it drew closer and closer to her 17th birthday. The day a fairy would get her wings. She rolled her shoulders as if that would alleviate the pain but it only caused her more discomfort.

Jade peered outside the windows and saw that there was a ledge she could easily drop down on to get to the stables. She stood in the window, grabbed the ledge of the window and dropped to the second ledge before dropping to the ground. The boy jumped at her sudden appearance.

"How is Midnight?" she asked, nodding her head toward the horse. The boy stroked the horse's mane, "he's good I see." Jade stepped up and patted the white patch on Midnight's snout; Midnight butted his head against her palm.

"He's an awfully gorgeous thing. I've never seen one so well taken care of." The boy complimented. Jade smiled at him and turned away from Midnight.

"If I were looking to purchase another horse, where might I go about looking?" Midnight bumped Jade's shoulder with his nose, as if to remind her that he was her horse, Jade reached back and rubbed between his eyes, "she needs to ride someone else Midnight." She tells him affectionately.

"There's a man two doors down, next to the tailor, he sells horses. He's got good horses, but his prices are a bit expensive." The boy explains, "His names Seamus."

"Thanks." Jade smiles, handing the boy two gold coins before she spun on her heel and walked back into down and down to the horse dealer. She tapped on the front too with her boot a few times but got no answer. She peered in the shop window, but didn't see anyone inside so she walked around back where she found the man she assumed was Seamus trying to sell a pony to a woman.

"I'll be with you in just a minute." He called to her, his attention going back to the blonde woman standing before him looking at the pony. Jade nodded and busied herself with looking at the horses. Most of them were small and probably wouldn't be good for travel, except for a pure white mare that was thick and stocky with a long mane and shaggy hooves.

She circled the horse and it watched her with curious eyes, nudging her shoulder when she came to stop in front of it. Jade reached up and rubbed her snout with a flat hand. The horse nudged her hand when she stopped, "hello pretty." She murmured.

"She seems to like you." The man spoke suddenly, a gleeful tone in his voice almost as if he'd been hoping to scare her. Jade blinked at him with a blank expression and turned to the horse, "Are you looking to buy, I have some lovely younger-."

"How much is she?" Jade cuts him off sternly.

"I'd only recommend this girl to an exp-."

Jade turns to face the man head on, "would you rather me take my business elsewhere? I can wait until I've moved to a new town, it wouldn't be a bother." She meets his gaze with her own unyielding stare. He looks nervous and finally sighs.

"16 gold pieces." Jade ran her fingers over the gold in her trousers pocket. Jade thought about questioning the price, trying to get it down by 7 or so but she decided against it. She plucked 16 pieces from her pocket and dropped them into his waiting hands, "and how much for riding gear?"

He glances at her, sizing her up. She straightens her back, which aches something fierce, "I'll give you a full set of gear for four gold pieces." He walks her over to show her his collection and she selects his best gear and gives him five gold pieces before leading the mare back to the inn's stables.

"Wow!" the boy gasped, "she's almost as wonderful as Midnight."

"Yes, well she needs some care. And some hay. Do you mind?" he nods and takes her from Jade, leading her to a stall beside Midnight. Jade head back into the Inn where Tori is sitting on her bed brushing out her hair.

"We'll be leaving soon; we've got more suitable riding clothes in the saddle bags. I've got someone to tend to the horses. Get ready to go; soon we'll be somewhere where you don't need to hide." Jade glances

"Okay." Tori whispered, eyes staring at the end of the bed and away from Jade. The dark haired guard sighed, not ready to deal with the moody princess. She walked to the window and peered down, the boy was tending to the horses hooves. Jade smiles at the sight and moves over to dig through her bags to change. Once she was done she tied her hair up into another intricate braid and hauled their bags up.

"Are you ready, Tori?" Jade asked, the girl nodded fixing her trousers, she wasn't used to wearing them and it was an odd sensation for her, but she silently followed Jade downstairs, braiding her own long hair in a messy loose braid. She sighed and just let it be, determined to learn how to braid better at some time, "Now, you know how to ride a horse right?"

"Of course." Tori replied sounding agitated.

"Then you'll be riding Midnight, until I can see how this new horse acts." Tori pauses nerves stalling her, she knew how to ride a horse-sure, but the prospect of riding one when her trainer wasn't around made her nervous, and Midnight was a large horse, "he's a good boy, come on. Lets get moving."


	4. Chapter 3

**Victoria Vega is a fairy and she is next line for her Kingdom's throne, as soon as she gets married, but before her wedding someone tries to kill her and she's sent away with a body guard, Jadelyn West, until the hit is called off. When Tori finally returns will she be able to go through with the wedding or will someone else steal her heart?**

"Jade can we please take a break? I'm sore and I'm sure Midnight would like to stop." Tori complained. The horse wasn't showing any signs of needing to stop but Jade halted and dismounted anyways, Tori following in suit. Once she was standing on the ground her legs were shaking like jelly. They'd been riding half the day and Tori wasn't used to such long rides.

Jade led the horses to the stream and took a seat on the grass beside it, watching Tori stumble around trying to regain the ability to walk. It amused her to watch the usually graceful princess wobble about unsteadily before she finally gave up and collapsed on the ground beside the base of a tree.

"Look, as much as I'd love to sit around all day, this is the last stop until nightfall." Jade said in a harsh tone. Tori glared at her, stretching her legs in front of her and leaning forward to touch her tones, "look, in two mornings I will turn 17, and I wish not to be out in the open when it happens."

"I understand…" Tori whispered fearfully, "Have you ever seen it happen? Does it hurt?"

Jade looked over at Tori, her light blue eyes seeming darker than ever, Jade nodded her head once slowly, and then turned toward the river, "but from what I understand, it's worth it." She picks at grass by her feet.

"Even alone?" Tori whispered.

"Sadly, I'm not alone." She glances over at the tan girl basking in the sun. Tori glowered at her in annoyance, "Look, from what I've heard its better when you're alone. Are you ready to go again?"

"Whatever." Tori mounted the horse again, situating herself in the saddle uncomfortably. Jade instantly mounted the horse and led it back onto the path, making a soft noise that prompted Midnight to follow her as well. Tori remained quiet throughout the ride for the most part.

"Do you think I'll still be out here on my 17th birthday?" she asked out of the blue, staring up at the bright sun overhead, "that it'll just be you and me. I don't want to go through that alone."

"Yeah well neither do I, but look where we are." Jade snapped irritably, "Now shut your mouth for the rest of the trip if you're just going to keep complaining about being with me because this is not my plan, either." She chewed down on her cheek to keep from yelling anymore.

"Then why the hell are you doing this? And don't give me that 'duty to my King' line, I know you're lying." Tori accused her voice coming out a hiss. Jade pulled the reins to halt the horse and turned her icy gaze on the princess who was paralyzed with fear as soon as the gaze hit her.

"Because if you die, your family loses the crown, and I lose my home. Or I have to-no you know what, that's the only reason. So, no, I don't care about _you _personally, just _you _as my future Queen." Jade snarls viciously.

"And what makes you think I won't kick you out?" Tori replies haughtily. Jade sneers at her and gently kicks the side of the horse, who trots ahead. Tori glared at her retreating back and kicks Midnight gently into action.

"You are not allowed to kick me out, for as long as your family rules, I have a spot on your royal guard, you have no say in the matter, and even so if you tried you would never hear the end of it from your father, after all, I'm saving your life." Jade leads the horse into a full out run and Tori groans as Midnight follows in suit.

"We can stay here, it's late." Jade says as they lead the horses into a new town, Jade looks around nervously, her eyes going to the castle looming over the village. Silently they walk among the people, Jade ordering Tori to keep her head down until they're in a room.

At this Inn Jade is happy to find a stable hand as efficient as the last, she passes the horses along with three gold coins to him and heads inside. Tori twitches nervously at her side, fingers itching to hold her necklace for dear life, but she keeps them twisted in the hem of her shirt and waits for Jade to lead her to their new room.

"Please, feel free to stop acting like a hostage at anytime." Jade snapped, shoving the door closed roughly behind Tori. Tori spun quickly and made a motion to slap Jade across the face. Jade grabbed her wrist tightly and spun her around, throwing her forward onto the bed.

She lands on her face, "Don't be so rude!" Tori growls, pushing her body away from the bed and glaring at Jade over her shoulder.

"You tried to hit a trained, knighted, member of the royal guard. Excuse me if it's my second nature to fight back." Jade snarled. Tori likened her glare to knives and wondered if it could slice her skin.

"I'm sorry, but can't you at least try to be nicer?" Tears built up into her eyes and rolled down her face in a matter of seconds, "this is hard enough for me as it is, but now you're treating me like I'm a thorn in your side, and I didn't do anything to deserve this!" Jade stared at the girl blankly and it unnerved Tori who bit the inside of her cheek to keep from sobbing, "why do you hate me?"

"I don't hate you, I don't particularly like you, but I don't hate you." Jade turned away from her, "now, get some rest, or do you want a bath?"

"I'd like a bath." Tori said so softly that Jade almost missed it. Jade wandered toward the tub and set her hand gently on the side, before Tori's eyes the tub filled with water, steaming and clear, "how…" Tori wondered.

"Don't your tutors teach you anything? Every fairy can control the elements at least a little bit before they come of age." she turns and gives Tori a bemused look while shaking her head, biting her lip gently as she turned back toward the tub, dancing her finger tips along the water to test it, "Should be fine for your bath."

Jade stood up an turned away from the bath, dragging the changing screen across the tub as she moved across the room to retrieve her hair brush before lying down on one of the bed, stretching across it as she listened to Tori undressing and slipping into the water. Jade reached up to undo her braid.

She brushed the locks out and then twirled a strand around her finger while she toyed with the jade on her necklace. The cool stone slipped through her fingers like water, she stared at it like it was the most fascinating thing she'd ever seen. The stone was almost the same color as her eyes, she'd been told.

"_Sweetheart, you take this, and never ever lose it. You keep it safe, and always remember I love you." Jasmine kneeled before her young daughter, brushing her brown hair behind her ear, "I love you forever, and nothing will change that. Now you must run, and take this, show it to one person and one person only, King David Vega, and nobody else." Jasmine pulled the crown from her hair and tucked it into a bag hanging at her daughter's side._

"_I love you, Jadelyn." The green eyed child turned her father, eyes wide with worry, "I will protect you always." He caressed her cheek softly, eyes tearing up; a soft orange glow emitted from his finger tips and seemed to fill her._

"_Daddy no…" Jadelyn protested. _

"_Run, darling." Her mother's fingers brushed her face and a bluish glow slipped from her finger tips, and Jadelyn glowed too. Her Guardian grasped her arm gently, tugging her away from her crying parents, "goodbye, Jadelyn."_

"Jade." Tori carefully grasped her shoulder and shook it, Jade sat up in a flash, slapping at Tori's hand as she rolled to the other side of the bed so quickly that Tori nearly missed it all, "I just wanted to let you know I was done. Are you alright? You're crying."

"Mind your own business." Jade retorted feebly swiping at the tears on her face, she stomps away behind the changing curtain and within a blink the water has changed from the dirty soapy water left behind by Tori to fresh clear water.

"For a minute there your eyes…they were green." She heard Tori whisper, but she ignored that. She knew her eyes were blue. She'd changed them to be so. Quickly she removed her clothes and sunk into the water, it lapped at her skin, soaking into her muscles and loosening them. She picked up a cloth and some soap and lathered her dirty battered skin slowly, massaging the muscles in her neck and arms, feeling them slowly loosen.

After her skin was back to its natural pale color she washed the dirt from her hair and then she got out of the water and grabbed a towel to dry off her skin. She tugged on a dress, dried her hair and wandered to the second bed. Tori was laying in her bed, curled on one side, fingers toying with the moonstone.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier." Jade murmured before rolling onto her side, putting her back to Tori. Her fingers grasped her jade stone in terror. She closes her eyes and curls her knees up to her chest.

"_Why do I have to go on the run?" Jade asked, peering up at her Guardian. She was settled in front of him, between his arms, her brown hair had been chopped off and now sat around her shoulders. _

"_Because bad people are coming." He responded, his deep voice resounding through her._

"_To do what?"_

"_Take your throne." The man replied._

"_You won't let them, will you?" Jade asks, blinking up at him._

"_We'll try to stop them. But-."_

"_Mommy and daddy won't be there, even if you do. That's why they gave me magic." She held her hand up to her hair and ran her fingers through it, the brown locks turned dark as night, "and then when they get stopped, what happens to me?"_

"_I will come rescue you and someone will rule the throne until you can take it, but until then, you will stay with King David and Queen Holly, they're very nice and have a daughter and she's about your age, so maybe you can grow up with her."_

"_I don't want to grow up with her. I want to become a knight or a royal guard like you." She replies with conviction. The man looks down at Jade with admiration in his eyes smiling, "I will."_

"_I don't doubt it little one. Now we must fly." Jade shrieks with laughter as they suddenly leave behind the horse and take to the sky, "you realize, your parents' magic will wear off at sometime?" _

"_I don't need magic to kick butt!" Jadelyn argues, the guard laughs, as watches as her green eyes turn to blue, not unlike his own. His lips turn up into a sad smile and she slowly closes her eyes. _

"Jade?" the guard blinks in confusion, sitting up on her bed she turns to Tori, who is laying on her bed staring at Jade with wide scared eyes, "am I ever going to see my family again?"

"Yeah, you won't be stuck out here with poor old me forever." Jade replies, faking a warm smile to keep Tori from breaking down, "we won't be out here for more then a few months."

Tori sighs and lays back on her bed while Jade gets up and walks onto the balcony. She leans on her forearms and stares across the town lit by torches, the moon and the stars. Her eyes look beyond that to the plains where she knows a house is tucked away where Tori and she will be hiding.

She hears someone crying and her head turns and she spots a girl crying, the girl looks up at the same time, "Excuse me…I didn't realize anyone was out here." Jade says, turning to go back inside.

"No, please stay." The girl says, her voice is soft and sort of high pitched but muffled. She sniffles and gently wipes beneath her eyes, "I'm sorry, I just don't think it's fair for me to ruin your night, I'll go back inside."

"Don't worry about it; I'm sure we can both be outside." Jade says, eyes scanning the girl. She was in a rather rich looking pink dress and her long red hair is swept into an intricate braid spun into a bun on top of her head.

"You don't know who I am, do you?" the red head asks with a slightly amused giggle.

"Afraid not, just passing through town, actually." Jade shrugs, but she couldn't deny the girl looked familiar.

"I'm Princess Catherine." The girl says, waving in the general direction of the castle, "you look like you know your way around a castle." She motions to the necklace around Jade's neck which Jade hurriedly tucks away in her shirt, glowering at the girl, "you're ashamed?" she asks confused.

"It's my mothers." Jade explains, "Not mine, and I usually keep it tucked away. Why are you way out here if your castle is there?" Jade gestures toward the giant palace arches visible above the trees.

"Needed some fresh air, so I came here. It's peaceful to be out among my people without a guard." She grins like madwoman and Jade finds herself utterly amused with the girl who was crying not two seconds ago now laughing and spinning about to soak up the fresh air, "you're like them."

"Like who?" Jade asks, leaning on the balcony ledge to stare at the strange red head she had a vague memory off eating with when she was younger.

"Guards."

"I am a guard." The girl looks at her startled and starts backing away, "not yours, I'm part of the Gregori guard." The lie flows smoothly from her lips and she almost feels guilty for lying to the girl, not quite, but almost.

"Oh, what are you doing all the way out here?"

"Going to Trace." She continued to lie, feeling a small pang in her chest at the memory of her home, "to do surveillance."

"You're lying." She replied, leaning onto her balcony. An alabaster stone fell in front of her on a chain, "but that's alright, I can tell you have a good reason. So what is your name?"

"Jade." She curses herself for revealing her real name.

"Like the stone, your mother named you after it, then?" Jade nods to confirm it, "do you have your own, somewhere?"

"I do." Jade replies mutely, "I don't wear it so people don't identify me as a royal." Catherine nods slowly to say she understands and turns her eyes back to the door of the room, her eyes searching for something.

"A princess?" she inquires.

"Who?"

"The person you're guarding." Catherine replies, "She's standing by the doorway, listening to our conversation in a way that is not discreet or polite." The girl laughs, its high pitched and musical. Tori steps out from the door and gives Catherine a shy smile.

"Victoria!" She hisses with a squeal. Jade glares at her as if to silence her, "why are you here? What happened at your wedding! You're not dead!" it all came out in one really rushed breath and Jade knew why she remembered her now, many parties from not only Vallestia, but Trace as well.

"Dead?" Tori's eyes bug out as she rushes beside Jade to get closer to Catherine, "why would I be dead?"

"Your parent's sent out a rumor you were dead. But you're not what is going on…." Catherine looks to Jade with wide confused brown eyes.

"You. Never. Saw. Us." Jade grounds out through clenched teeth while gripping Tori's forearm, "back inside, princess. Rest, we leave soon." Tori gave one backwards look to Catherine before she disappeared into the dark room.

"Is she going to be okay?" Catherine asks, she sounds genuinely concerned.

"She will be, as long as you do not mention seeing us, Trace, or the fact that you know an assassin tried to kill her. I'm sure you know how to contact me, if you hear anything about the assassin, who hired him or anything like that tell me."

"Where are you taking her?"

"Somewhere safe." Jade retorted, spinning on her heel and marching back into the room, Tori was sitting on the bed, still awake, looking at her, candle light illuminating her face, her brown eyes were sad and her eyebrows pulled together, "what?"

"At first I thought maybe your mom ran away like my sister did, and married someone of low status, but then I heard you tell her you had a necklace, which meant you have to be a princess." Jade pushes the doors to the balcony closed behind her and looks over at Tori with a sigh.

"Look, I really don't want to talk about my family right now, Princess. But yes, I was. Maybe we can have this heart to heart some other time. Right now, get some sleep." Tori curls up on her side and just stares at the wall blankly after that.

"I didn't sleep well after the first assassin got into my room that night, and this is the most refreshed I've felt in months, but I'm not tired. I want to get far away from here, she doesn't keep secrets well. It slips her brain a lot."

Jade glances at Tori with complete shock, the girl had been begging for a stop since they'd set out, "it isn't safe to travel at night." Jade says, "So try to get some rest, we'll leave at first light, which won't be too long."

"Okay." Tori shifts a little and curls around her pillow, hugging it tight to her chest. She closes her eyes and inhales deeply before exhaling, her fingers toying with the moonstone.

When she woke up again bits of sunlight were falling across the floor and in the bed beside her Jade was asleep, curled around a pillow. Tori silently swung her legs over the bed and placed them gently on the ground, pushing out of her bed and walking over to the tub. She knelt beside it and stared, willing water to fill it. But nothing happened.

"It's not going to work." Jade said, sitting down beside Tori, "you've got to have a clear mind, sit down and cross your legs." Tori did as Jade demanded, "Eyes closed and focus on nothing."

Tori inhaled and exhaled a few times, feeling her shoulders relax and her mind stopped buzzing with nerves as she exhaled another time, "now picture the elements in your mind. Earth, fire, water, air. Let them fill you. Feel the tingle?"

Tori nodded slowly, her whole body seemed to be humming, tingling down to her fingertips. What she couldn't see was that her skin was glowing softly and a soft heat was radiating off of her. Jade grinned and sat back pulling one knee up to rest her chin on as she watched Tori's grinning face.

"Now, place your hand on the tub and picture it filling up." Tori did as she was told and gasped when the water hit her finger tips. Her eyes snapped open and she looked over at the tub eyes filled with utter shock and joy.

"I did it!" Tori squealed, throwing her arms around Jade's neck and tackling the girl onto the floor. Jade grunted but laughed despite herself, hugging Tori back with one arm and sitting them both up, "I can't believe I did it!"

"I can't believe your tutors didn't teach you already…" Jade rolled her eyes, thinking that the royal tutors were the dumbest people on the planet, "I'll teach you more later. Let's get going."

Jade helped Tori to her feet; they grabbed their things and then went to get the horses. "When did you learn how to use your powers?" Tori asked as they rode along.

"When I was in training," Jade replied, "before I got knighted, we had to learn how to use them to fight, I don't generally use mine for anything other then filling my tub at night. Which is just about all they're good for. Both sides of the fight have power, I need to know how to kick ass, not do little magic tricks."

Tori doesn't ask anymore questions as they travel, the sun is just starting to fall from the sky when the break out of the forest to a clearing with a small little house covered in vines, "it's a little unkempt, but it'll keep you safe." Jade dismounted and unsaddled the horses. She took the bridle off and brushed both horses down before leading Tori into the house.

She ripped vines from the door and yanked the door open, it was stuffy and hot inside, but that was nothing a few windows open couldn't remedy. They spent a good part of the afternoon cleaning up inside and making the beds before they put out their clothes.

"This bookshelf is magnificent!" Tori gushed, scanning the shelves with an utterly fascinated expression, "how do you know about this place?" Jade's eyes flicked over to Tori and she just laughed.

"It's an old safe house." Jade answered vaguely, "Now you can go as far north as you want-within reason, but do not travel south unless you're coming back to the house. South is dangerous. It's a bad town. You're too innocent to go anywhere near that dreadful place, they'll eat you up."

"Then why bring me out here?"

Jade turns toward her and leans against the kitchen counter, "this is the last place they'll look for you. Now don't mind me, but I'm going to head into town to get some food, stay put until I get back, please?"

"Sure. I'll just read, you don't mind right?"

"No, just make sure they get back in the same spot you pulled them from. I'll be back." While Tori settled down on one of the beds Jade rolled up the sleeves of her tunic and attached her wrist holster for her knives rolling the sleeves back over them. She grabbed her cloak from the counter and swung it on, pulling the hood up over her head.


	5. Chapter 4

**Victoria Vega is a fairy and she is next line for her Kingdom's throne, as soon as she gets married, but before her wedding someone tries to kill her and she's sent away with a body guard, Jadelyn West, until the hit is called off. When Tori finally returns will she be able to go through with the wedding or will someone else steal her heart?**

Jade's blue eyes stayed purposely forward as she moved through the town. As she walked she took note of certain, vocal, people. Woman trying to sell anything for a bit of money, men just back from the hunt of a lifetime, disgusting people that all made her want to turn and flee, she felt to vulnerable being this close to her birthday.

Yet she walked with the confident grace of someone who was not to be messed with. Her cloak billowed behind her and her long hair tumbled down her back. The people who took notice of her gave her strange looks, but nobody walked near her, fearful of the blue eyes narrowed in silent challenge.

She shopped for meat and breads, filling a sack with as much bread and meat as she possibly could before she made her way to a bar where she sat for a drink that she never dared took a sip of. Instead she just listened to the conversation going on around her, listening for anyone talking about Vallestia, or the dead princess.

The closer it got to nightfall the more her back began to ache and she was forced to return to the cabin. Tori looked up when the door swung open, hand reaching under her pillow for the knife she'd picked up after Jade left, only stopping when she notices it's Jade who was walking through the door.

"You were gone for a long time." She comments offhand, brushing her hair behind her ear before turning back to the book in her hands. Jade shoved the door shut and walked over and put the food into various cupboards, starting the task of cooking the meat she'd bought, "dinner?"

"Hopefully." Jade retorts, while the meat is getting warm she pulls off her cloak and unarms herself, setting a knife beside her working station and the rest by her bed. As she cooked Jade tried to distract herself as much as possible from the searing ache between her shoulder blades.

"Do you need any help?" Tori asks closing her book and setting it gently on the bed beside her.

"You can cook?" Jade asked in disbelief, lifting an eyebrow at her. Tori tried to ignore the look.

"Well not much, but I had a few lessons when I was a kid, I might be a Princess but I'm not useless. But if we're going to be out here for awhile I think I should learn a bit more." Tori slipped off of her bed, padding over to where Jade was cooking, "so I can try to help."

"Alright, cooking lesson number one: meat goes bad quick and you've got to cook it perfectly." She cooks and explains to Tori as she does. Tori soon takes over on the next slab of meat.

As the night drags on her the more her back started to ache and soon she found herself in the bed curling around her pillow with blurred vision and pain radiating through her bones. Tori finishes up the meat she was cooking as fast as possible and rushes to the bed.

"Jade are you okay?" Jade manages to nod her head, the bed dips beside her and cool soft fingers brush over her forehead. She wants to bat them away but she can't be bothered to move, "what do you need me to do?"

"Lock the door." She gasps before grinding her teeth, "And finish cooking the meat." Tori nods, not that Jade can see it, and follows her instructions. When she returns to Jade closer to daybreak she finds the girl curled up, sweating like crazy, and barely away.

"Jade, I'm going to take your cloak off." Jade didn't put up much of a fight. Tori unhooked the cloak from around the girl's throat, confused as to why she was even still wearing it, and tossed it aside, "Jade what else do you need? Is there anything I can do?"

"Water." She wheezed, "get me water, please."

Tori grabbed the canteen from their bags and brought it to Jade who emptied it in a few seconds. Tori sighed and pressed her finger to the mouth of it, willing the thing to fill up, when it did she grinned with pride, passing it back to Jade.

Tori remained kneeling beside the bed as Jade swallowed down the water, body shaking. Her already pale skin seemed to be made of wax, cold, and covered in sweat. Her lips were chapped and pale and her hands shook when she reached for the water. Tori watched in confusion as Jade's skin shimmered and her long black hair flickered back and fourth between brown and black until it settled on light brown.

"Jade what's happening to your hair?" Tori asked in a soft voice.

"Hmm?" Jade managed to ask eyelids slowly rolling open to reveal dark green eyes.

Tori stared in shock, "Your hair and eyes. They've changed colors." Jade let her eyes close again and sighed into her pillow, fisting her fingers in pain in the next instant.

"I." she wheezed, "changed them. Later." She mumbled. Tori let it go, realizing she wouldn't get much of an answer, and held the canteen up to Jade's lips and tipped it enough for the water to spill slowly into Jade's mouth.

"You're still burning up." Tori whispered. She stood, setting the closed canteen down. She peeled the sheets away from Jade's body and rolled up the legs of her trousers before she peeled the shirt from Jade's body, tossing it aside. She brushed up Jade's hair away from her neck and back.

Tori sat on the floor with the canteen and her book, occasionally giving Jade some water to sip from or taking some for herself. She was about to fall asleep tucked against the bed and the wall when she felt this crackling in the air. Her eyes popped open and she winced at the bright light.

Jade was on her bed, her skin glowing as bright as the midday sun. Tori stumbled to her feet and moved away from the bed in time to watch Jade's body lift from the bed two feet. The shine was so bright she had to shield her eyes with her hands. She was so busy with the light that she nearly fell to the floor in shock when a pain filled scream ripped from Jade's lungs as her body went stiff in the air, mouth open in a now silent scream.

The light swallowed her in one second and vanished in the next, her body slamming back onto the bed like a lifeless corpse. Slowly, smoke like wisps circled out of Jade's back into the form of a smoky set of wings, and as they rolled away a set of shiny black wings fluttered on her back softly, like new butterflies wings fresh from a cocoon.

Tori rushed to her side, shock worn off, peeling damp strands of brown hair away from Jade's face. Jade whimpered softly, hands fisted in the leg of Tori's trousers, eyelids screwed shut. Tori shifted slowly until she lay on her side, holding Jade's body to hers, carefully avoiding her back. Tori fell asleep sometime after Jade's whimpering died down and woke long before she did.

Tori slid out of the bed and stretched slowly at the foot of the bed before she got up, eye the steam of light through the only window. Judging from the amount of light it was still early in the morning. After getting herself some breakfast she wandered around the small house, looking over the spines of the books, trying to find one that was interesting. She pulled out a book on practicing the elements and dusted off the cover as she walked to the window, sitting down in an ancient looking chair.

Using the sunlight from the window she opened the cover, an old oil painting sat in the front cover. She recognized the people in the picture. They were the former King and Queen of Trace. Queen Jasmine and King James. Between them was a young girl, their daughter. Princess of Trace. She had green eyes and curled brown hair. Her face was angular and pale, a mix of the best features of both the King and Queen, and happy a bright smile that made her eyes sparkle.

"What is your name?" she mumbled, looking at the young girls face, running her thumb gently over it. She wanted to hit herself in the face when the realization struck. This cabin was Jade's family's cabin, it was near Trace. And Jade was a princess. She looked closely at the image. The queen was wearing a necklace with a green jewel, "Jade…"

The girl was still peacefully asleep on the bed, those black glittery wings now gone, hidden from the world unconsciously. Her long brown hair was dry now, curling at the ends. And those green eyes were shifting beneath their lids as her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Her necklace as plastered to her chest, the green gem identical to the one in the image.

Tori set the picture back where it belonged, eyes flickering to her sleeping guard briefly, and then turned the page in the book. The first lesson was different things you could do with water. Aside from filling tubs you could, once you came of age, cause a storm, create a lake, or a wave. And on a more sinister side of things, you could fill a person's lungs with water or soak all of the water from their body until they shrivel up like a grape.

She shivered in disgust when she read that part; flipping through those pages she located the next element in the book, Earth. It started out with the things you could do before you became of age. One of these was growing fruits and vegetables. She tested out those powers by reached out the window to a vine. A smallish tomato grew from the vine; she plucked it off and walked to the kitchen.

Finding a silver knife in one of the drawers she cut into it. It tasted surprisingly good. She went back to the window and grew a few more and a few apples, setting them on the counter before walking back to her chair with another apple. She flipped a few pages, reading about creating warriors out of stone and sand. After Earth came Air.

With air the only thing she could really do was create a breeze, which was nice enough to her. With fire the only thing she could do was create a small amount of fire, something she could do without her powers, so she ignored that. Jade slept through the rest of the day, and at nightfall she was still out cold, breathing softly.

Tori walked over to the tub and ran her fingers along the side until it filled up with nice warm water. She double checked that Jade was sleep and that the door was locked before she pulled the shirt off over her head and folded it nicely on the end of her bed. It was followed by her trousers, folded nicely as well with the shirt.

She found a bar of soap in her bag and slid into the tub with it. Slowly she washed her legs and her stomach and her arms, and then she slipped under the water and soaked her hair, cleaned it with the soap and rinsed it again. She emptied the tub and stood slowly, ringing her hair out over the basin as she perched on the edge, a soft breeze she created drying her skin.

"Nice control over the elements, princess." Jade's voice sounded sore and raspy, like her fathers after a night of drinking. She turned to face Jade who was lying on her bed with her eyes half open, half closed, "how long have I been out?"

"Just a day." Tori replied, "How are you feeling?"

"Sore. Tired. Hungry." Jade mumbled. Tori swung her legs from the tub and got dressed in new clothes, padding over to the kitchen soon after. She pulled out some of the meat and grabbed an apple, she handed it to Jade who was now sitting up in her bed, newly dressed.

She ate quickly, surprising Tori with how fast she was done with the meal. Tori took the plate and knife and set them on the counter, "I can't believe I'm still tired." Jade mumbled, stretching her arms high over her head, "anything happen?"

"As in?" Tori questioned, using an oil lamp to read titles of the books. She came across one on combat training but skipped over it, instead she pulled out one with a story her mother once told her when she was younger.

"Anyone sneaking around?"

"No. The only things around here are the trees and the horses." She pulled the book from the shelf and walked over to her bed, sinking into it against the pillows. Tori set the lamp on the table beside her and looked at Jade. Jade was staring at her, eyes searching for something within the Princesses face.

"Thank you." Jade told her, "For taking care of me. I'm not really sure I would have made it through that as easily if you hadn't helped me."

"It's nothing." Tori shrugged her shoulders, "I'm just glad you're awake."

"Not for much longer." Jade said, covering her mouth with her hand as she yawned, eyes drooping, "Wake me up when you get up if I'm still sleeping." And then she sunk farther down her bed, drawing the sheets up to her chin. She was asleep not long after that.

Tori read the book, more looking at the pictures while she recited the story from memory. When she finished the story she set the book aside turned the oil lamp off and slid down on the bed, she curled around her pillow, staring through the darkness toward the small window where the moon is just visible through the window.

Her eyelids fluttered closed, lashes brushing her cheeks softly. Jade watched this curiously, having been startled awake when Tori set the book down. She watched as the girl slowly drifted to sleep, eyes twitching behind their lids, lips quivering and turning up into a smile, and slowly the tension eased from her face, and then her body, and finally she was asleep.

Assured that Tori was not going to wake up Jade slid from her bed. Her bones ached, and with each step pain shot through her body strong enough to nearly bring her to her knees. Slowly she crept across the house, kneeling beside the tub and gripping it firmly with her hand until it was full.

Once she was done she pulled off her clothing and let it pile on the floor, stepping into the hot water happily, sighing as it sunk into her ailing bones and seemed to uncoiling the painful knots deep within them.

The long she sat the farther into the tub she sank until her body was completely submerged, the hot water soaking into her skin and the heat deep into her bones until the last bits of pain evaporated. Jade slowly sat back up, resting her head against the cool porcelain of the tub as the water slowly cooled down.

She stepped out of the tub and padded softly across the room to retrieve her soap and washed up in the cold water before emptying the tub and drying off and pulling on some clean clothes from her bag. Feeling less sore she wasn't inclined to sit around so, after glancing back at Tori's sleeping form, she pulled on her cloak and slipped out the cabin door.

The air outside was cold and chilled her hair; the horses were nearby, grazing at what was left of the grass. Jade walked over and greeted each horse, rubbing them between the eyes and kissing their snouts before walking around the cabin in a careful perimeter check, after which returned to the horses, unhooking her cloak from around her throat. She hung it on a branch on a nearby tree and pulled off her shirt.

New wings were harder to manipulate through clothing, and she was dying to test them out, giving them a tentative flap through the air she winced, but slowly the ache dulled and she lifted slowly from the ground. It took her a few tries, and some falling on her back end, before she got the hang of flying.

Soon she was soaring through the skies, over the trees, fast as lightening, grinning from ear to ear. This is what it felt like to fly, she laughed with glee, it was amazing. She looped through the air and headed back toward the cabin, touching down beside the horses.

Once the black wings disappeared once more she pulled her tunic back on, she had no clue how it worked, but once they were invisible she couldn't feel her wings anymore, there was no pressure in the center of her back. She hooked the cloak back on and did another perimeter check before going inside.

Tori was still asleep on her bed, lost in some dream or another, so Jade silently moved through the house, hanging the cloak back up and sitting down on the edge of the bed. She found a pair of boots and started lacing them up, feeling dawn drawing nearer put her on edge.

The sun was in the sky soon, and she was curled up in the chair beside the window reading, Tori's eyes searched the dim room when she woke, slowly rolling toward Jade, sitting in the chair focused on the book. Her eyes were trained on the book, a look in her eye that confused Tori.

It was a sad fondness; she ran her fingers over the page, lids drooping slightly. It was as if Jade was lost in a memory, a memory that she loved, but one that ached something deep inside her. Tori wanted nothing more than to walk over and hug the guard, but she knew the gesture would not have been welcomed so she yawned over dramatically and stretched out.

Jade's eyes lifted from her book and the edge of her mouth tipped up into a smirk as she closed the book, "sleep well, Tori?" she wondered.

"Yes, actually, thanks for asking. I'd ask how you slept, but I have a feeling you didn't." she swung her legs off the side of the bed and sat there, watching the other girl cross the room. Jade pulled out the meat and cut each of them some to eat with a little bit of bread.

"We don't have much bread left, so maybe I'll go into town today and get some." Jade commented off hand while they ate, "is there anything you'd like me to try and find?"

"No, not really." Tori said, staring at Jade trying to be discreet. What had happened to the girl to make her so much nicer all of the sudden? Was it just about her wings, or did something else happen? Jade lifted an eyebrow at Tori when she caught her staring; Tori's cheeks turned pink and she looked away.

"So I should be back soon." And with that she gets up and slips out the door.

Tori finishes her food and cleans up the dishes, setting them back in place on the table before she heads outside, eager to put some more of her skills to the test. She started out by the horses, simply making the grass grow so they'd have more to eat. And then she made some apples in the tree and a few carrots in the ground as a treat for the horses.

Thoroughly enjoying herself, she set about making a nice watering hole for the pair of horses so they wouldn't have to walk as far to the near by river, and then she sat at the base of a tree and pulled out the book on combat to read.


	6. Chapter 5

**Victoria Vega is a fairy and she is next line for her Kingdom's throne, as soon as she gets married, but before her wedding someone tries to kill her and she's sent away with a body guard, Jadelyn West, until the hit is called off. When Tori finally returns will she be able to go through with the wedding or will someone else steal her heart?**

After reading the first chapter of the combat book Tori decided to use the tree as a practice target, since she had nothing else human size to use. She wrapped two shirts around the tree to protect her skin from cuts-after giving herself some major bloodied knuckles on the first attempt at a punch directed at the rough bark.

"You're really showing that tree whose boss, Vega." Tori finished her roundhouse kick without faltering and turned to face Jade, who looked impressed, "good form let me know when you're done with that book and I can help you get some hand-on-hand practice."

Tori nodded but didn't say anything, watching Jade curiously, Jade cleared her throat, "I'm going to cook up some meat." Jade had been gone for hours, and Tori had been wondering if she was coming back this time, because sometimes she just secretly wondered if Jade would outright leave her on her own.

"Okay." She watched Jade go inside and then finished practicing the roundhouse kick. She stayed outside until the sun started to go down, which is when she decided to grab her book and go back inside, after getting each horse an apple.

Jade was sitting in the chair by the window sharpening her swords and knives, eyes locked on what she was doing, all the weapons laid out on the floor in front of her, "all done?" she asked, not looking up from her work. Tori set the book beside her bed and sat down on it wiping sweat from her face, "how far are you in the book?"

"Chapter Four. I decided it was getting dark out so I might as well wait until morning. How was your trip into town? Which town did you go to, by the way? Where are we?" Tori asked, trying to sound casual, but it had been bothering her for days that she had no clue where Jade took her. Jade sighed and set her sword and stone aside.

"We're between two Kingdoms. Pythos, if you want to call that a kingdom, and Trace." Jade answered, she sat back in the chair and Tori heard her back pop loudly and the princess grimaced in annoyance.

"You've been going into the City of Thieves?" Tori asked in disbelief, horrified that Jade would go into such a place.

"Why do you assume I went to Pythos?" Jade asked, lifting an eyebrow and finally looking at Tori.

"Because you ran away from Trace as a kid and never went back, why would you go back now?" Tori answers smugly, "And you haven't changed your hair back" Jade scowls and runs her fingers through her hair, and as she does so the locks darken to black and with a blink her eyes are blue. She won't admit it, but she's shocked at how well Tori can read people, and situations, something that could come in handy if she ever got stuck in a bad situation.

"Pythos isn't so bad, as long as you know how to protect yourself. Now, do you know how to bake your own bread?" Tori shakes her head no, "then I guess I'll teach you." Jade says, standing up and deftly hoping over her collection of weapons. She grabbed everything from her bag and tossed it up on the counter, "Let me get your hair out of the way."

Jade stepped up behind Tori and quickly twisted her hair into a braid, "Do you think you can teach me how to do that?" Tori asks.

"I can." Jade replies, tying off Tori's braid before pulling her own hair back into a braid, "now let's get to the bread, braids later." Tori watched Jade start the bread and mimicked her actions while Jade explained the process step by step and then has Tori do it alone. When they're done baking the bread Tori sits down on her bed and sighs tiredly.

Jade is standing by her bed pulling her boots off, yawning loudly, her eyelids drooping. Tori pulls off her own boots and scoots to the headboard pulling her necklace from her shirt running her thumb across the stone. Jade sits back on her bed, stretching her arms above her head.

"Jade?" she blinks her eyes in silent response, "do you think I'll ever be able to go home? Will you really ever catch the assassin?"

"I will get to the bottom of this, don't you worry about that." Jade tells her, "It's my job to find out who wants you dead, and I'm good at my job."

"But what if you can't?"

"If, and that's a very small possibility, then we will eventually go back to Vallestia and you'll marry Beck and take the throne and get your own Guardian and they'll be in charge of your well being, and I'll be put in charge of your bouncing babies." Jade replied, "but that's not likely.

"Why won't you become my Guardian?" Tori's eyebrows cross over her nose.

"Women cannot become Guardians." Jade lifts one shoulder in a shrug and closes her eyes.

"But they let you take me…" Tori trails off, clearly baffled by the logic.

"The Monarch doesn't really decide that kind of thing. The royal guard has its own set of rules, and they will assign you a guardian. The fact that they haven't yet is beyond bizarre." Jade says.

"Did you have one?" Tori asks, curiosity piqued.

"I did." Jade answered, "His name was Darren. He was really nice."

"Where is he now?"

"After he delivered me to the castle he broke rules and returned to Trace instead of staying and protecting me, so I assume he is dead." Jade's words are harsh but her tone sounds sad and she touches her mother's necklace through the fabric of her shirt and Tori notices her bite the inside of her cheek.

"Where is your necklace, Jade?" Tori asks, toying with her own.

Jade motions with her hand to the bag which floats up onto her lap, she digs around for a few minutes and pulls out a dark wooden box. Tori moves over to the bed beside her and stares into it in wonder, there are all sorts of jewels inside, "another member of Traces' royal guard was charged with saving the jewels of the crown and brought them to me, or died trying, anyways."

She pulled out a necklace just like her mothers but with a deep purple stone, "what stone is that?"

"Amethyst. It's supposed to ward off bad luck. It's also a stone of priest hood and for anyone who is magically responsible for another person. I guess that part is right, now." She glances at Tori out of the corner of her eye and smiles softly. Tori smiles back, watching Jade's face closely, "I haven't worn it since I was little."

"It's pretty. You should." Jade laced the chain around her fingers and held the stone in her palm for a few seconds before setting the box on the bed and slipping the chain over her head. The charm fell against her shirt beside the other, separated by fabric. Tori picked it up gently and rubbed the stone on impulse, and quickly let go when she realized what she'd done.

Jade shifted in the bed to lean against the headboard and give Tori more room as she picked up the box, she poked around at a few trinkets that meant nothing to her until she found a thick ring with the seal of Trace on it, "this was my fathers, I wish I could wear it but it's too big for my fingers." She held it to Tori who picked up the massive ring between her thin fingers. It was heavy and cold, "my mom has one, but it's just a little too big, too. Or it was."

She poked around in the box until she located the ring in the mess of them, "why weren't they wearing them?"

"They removed them, packed up the box and sent the guard on his way. They went down fighting for their people, for their Kingdom, and they died an honorable death." Tori had heard the stories of the fall of Trace, but she hadn't heard about them fighting, "I wish they hadn't sent me away sometimes, I wish I'd just stayed with them and died, too."

Tori was silent, holding the ring in her hand, imagining the man who was in that picture and imagining her own father, and then she slowly reached out with her empty hand and took Jade's, expecting the girl to pull away, but Jade tightened her hand around Tori's as she continued through the box, showing her a crown her mother wore on her coronation and her mothers favorite necklace and rings.

Tori handed back her father's ring and Jade tucked her mothers inside it and set them back in the box, closing it and setting it aside, "sometimes I dream about them. My mom used to take me into the gardens and play chase with me, and sing to me. Our favorite game was hide and seek, I never went far, and she always pretended she had no clue where I was."

Tori smiles when she notices the fond smile on Jade's face and the far off look in her eyes, her pale fingers still linked through Tori's tan ones. She rubs her thumb over the back of Jade's hand, marveling at the soft skin, and the soft curves of her face, "what about your dad?"

"He was really not that big in my life. But I remember a few times where he'd let me come to the throne room with him and he'd tell me the most wonderful stories." Jade smiles, pulling her hand out of Tori's as she slid off the bed, placing her box on the floor, she then lay down beside Tori and looked up at her.

"Sorry I'll-."

"Hey no rush, my back just hurt so I didn't want to sit up anymore." Jade murmurs.

"Wings hurting?" Tori asked.

"No, the spot where they meet my back." She hooked her arm around her pillow and buried her face in it, "so what about your parents? I never really see them with you, and I don't remember much of them from the months I was with you in the castle."

"Not much to say, my mom usually left me with my tutors. But sometimes she would come sit with me and brush my hair and tell me and Trina about things she did as a child. After Trina ran away two years ago she clung to me like I would vanish." Tori says frowning slightly.

Tori reaches forward and cautiously rubs the space between Jade's shoulder blades, Jade's eyes close and she groans, "how close were you and Trina? I don't remember her much, she was never really around the guards like you were."

"We were okay, siblings you know? She was training to take the crown when she met Markus." Tori mumbles, "but we shared a room when we were younger, I hated to sleep alone so she offered to sleep in my room with me so I wouldn't get scared."

"Seems nice." Tori stopped the rubbing motion and felt herself sliding farther down on the bed. This time Jade reached for Tori's hand, twisting their fingers back together, "what were you scared of?"

"Nothing I can remember, my mom said I was scared of a man in the dark, but there was never really anyone there. Just a dumb child's imagination." Tori murmured, her eyes closing now.

"Sometimes the man in the dark is something parents refuse to see…" Jade murmured, yawning and stretching out her legs before curling up. Tori yawned and soon both girls were asleep soundly.

Tori had lied when she told Jade she didn't know what she was afraid of. When she was little she had night terrors of a man slipping into her bedroom and trying to kill her, and when that actually happened a few months ago she hadn't stopped dreaming of it since, until that night, with Jade holding her hand she slept soundly.

Jade was the first to wake up, eyes snapping open at six am. She remained still for a few minutes assessing her surroundings. Tori's small frame was beside her, her own body curled up into Tori's, legs twisted together. Tori had one arm over Jade's back and one pinned beneath Jade. Jade's arms were tucked between them and her head was resting just below Tori's on the pillow.

She stayed there for a lot longer than she'd admit, too comfortable to get up. But when the light slipped in through the windows she forced herself from the bed and pulled on her boots to go outside. It's chilly outside, and winter's fast approaching. She feeds the horses and then leads them to the stables she'd had yet to clear out. They stand outside enjoying their grass while Jade starts to clean out the first stall.

It's been years since they'd been put to use and the place is holding up surprisingly well. She drags out old hay and drags in new hay, repairs some damage to the roof and cleans out the feed basin, by the time she's done with the first stall she hears boots falling on the floor boards and Tori's humming drifts to her ears, "need any help cleaning?" Tori asks.

"Yeah, I have to fix the hole in the roof so clean out the stall there, drag the hay and anything dangerous out of there and pull in some new hay. Thanks." Tori nods and slowly cleans the stall out while Jade climbs up onto the roof with some wood and patches the hole.

"Jade?" Tori calls as she drags in the last of the hay, looking up to the roof where she knows Jade is perched.

"Yes?" she calls back, securing the board.

"Do you think you could teach me some blocking? The book says how to do it but it's hard to block without someone trying to hit you." She hears Jade moving around on the roof and then the sound of boots hitting the dirt, Jade walks into the stables dusting off her hands, "sure thing, lets get the horses settled first."

"No, Tori, not like that. Don't flinch, I won't hit you." Jade snapped, grabbing the girls wrist and holding it up, "clench your fist, good, now when I throw the punch you push my wrist away, okay?"

Tori nodded, Jade swung and Tori flinched, but managed to knock away the hit sloppily, Jade faked a throw with the opposite fist and stopped before hitting her, "always anticipate another hit." Tori scowled and Jade stepped back, "you're doing good, really, just remember whoever your fighting probably wants you dead."

They practiced everyday for the next two weeks at Tori's insistence. Jade was impressed with how quickly Tori picked up the training and soon she wasn't pulling punches, and neither was Tori. The princess had even managed to land a few blows, leaving a nice bruise on Jade's shoulder, and once catching the guard on the chin.

"Vega, I am not getting up." Jade protested early one morning, Tori was already awake and ready to go practice, "go back to bed."

"No. I'm wide awake. Come on lets spar."

"No." Jade groaned, rolling over in her bed. Tori took the opportunity and bounced onto the bed beside her, hooking her arm over Jade's waist and resting her chin on Jade's shoulder, "Vega."

"Weston." Tori mocked, Jade groaned.

"If I promise weapons training will you let me sleep for a little longer?" Jade asks hopefully.

"Yes." Tori replies, grinning from ear to ear. Jade nods and closes her eyes, stretching out and then curling around another pillow. Tori doesn't move and Jade doesn't bother to ask her to, instead she just shuts her eyes tighter and wills herself to sleep. When she wakes up sometime later Tori is up again, sitting on her own bed.

Jade sits up, blinking to get her eyes into focus, "what's wrong?"

"There's ice outside." She says, "my birthday is coming up soon." Jade frowns and pulls herself from the bed, it's still in the early hours of the morning, but a glance at the glass windows shows the ice crawling over the glass.

"You've got another month to go. You'll be home soon." Jade tells her searching around for a warmer pair of pants and a shirt, "I'm going to head into town to see if there's any news." She pauses, holding the shirt between her fingers, "do you want to come with?"

Interest sparks in Tori's eyes and she nods her head. While Jade changes Tori laces up her boots and finds her cloak, and Jade's. They take the horses this time, Jade not wanting to test out her wings carrying someone in the cold. Pythos wasn't what Tori expected.

People were still running about and acting like drunken fools but she didn't feel terrified when they entered the city. At the bar Jade always stopped at she followed Jade's lead, straightening her back and narrowing her eyes as they swept inside and claimed a table in the back.

Jade got them each some mead but neither drank it as Jade sat and listened to the conversations around them. This time she found some information, a man sat down a few tables over, "-sent me out to look for her. Dark hair, blue eyes, light skin. Supposed to be wicked scary and quick. Protecting the princess, find her, find Victoria. 2000 gold pieces. Can you imagine?"

Tori's eyes widened and she looked to Jade who motioned for her to keep her head down, just wishing they would say something else, anything else, "I've seen that girl before." Someone else piped up, "she comes in here every once in awhile and sits at the bar, buys and drink but doesn't drink it."

"She alone?"

"Always." Jade's stomach twisted as she lifted the glass to her lips and took a swallow of the mead, Tori doing the same.

"Go out first, get to the horse, mount it and go back, if I don't make it back, don't come looking. Go to Trace, and keep yourself alive." Jade whispered, Tori nodded and tipped back the glass like she was drinking the last drop before setting it down and standing, heading out the door and trying to keep herself from running. She mounted Midnight easily and spurred the horse into action, moving swiftly through the city and out the gates onto the main road unnoticed.

She gets back to the cabin and leaves Midnight out front, going inside and packing an emergency bag just in case, fear gripping her heart and stabbing it painfully. She sat in the chair and she paced back and forth, she did anything and everything to keep herself from going crazy, but night fell and Jade hadn't come back yet.

She decided to wait until morning, and if Jade wasn't back she would go to Trace and think about a new plan. She wasn't going to sleep though, not happening. Instead she unpacked Jade's bag to find her jewels and tucked them safely into hers, raided the bookshelves and sat down to read.

Day break would come any minute, and she was preparing to leave when the door opened and Jade stumbled in. She was in bad shape, she practically fell through the door. Her face was bruised, swollen and bloody and her stomach was bleeding profusely. Tori rushed to her side, hauling Jade to her feet and dragging her to the bed, kicking the door shut.

"What happened to you?" Tori whispered, kneeling in front of Jade. She unlaced her boots and pulled them off, followed by her pants and the tunic. Jade sat mutely on the edge of the bed while Tori dragged over a bucket and filled it with warm water, using torn bits of an old shirt as a rag.

She started with Jade's face and cleaned up the bloody mess. She had a cut above her brown and a split in her lip, a bruise bloomed across her pale cheek and she had a scrape on her collar bone, but the wound that shocked Tori the most was the sword drawn line across her stomach from her hip to just underneath her breast, "Jade…"

"I've had worse, Tori, don't worry." Jade's lips tipped up into a weak smile as she struggled to keep her eyes open, "I just need some rest, you'll be okay without me for a day or two, right?"

"Yeah…" she wrapped Jade's stomach wound and got her into a warm gown before Jade laid back and let unconsciousness swallow her whole. Tori paced beside the bed nervously for the next hour, unsure that she should be leaving Jade to sleep instead of taking her to a doctor, but in the cold the best she could do was start a fire, take the horses to the stables and keep a watchful eye on Jade as she sat in her bed, sword tipped against the night stand and book on her lap.

_Sorry this is so short and took so long, more to come, I promise. Hope this is flowing well, let me know what you think of it! _


	7. Chapter 6

**Victoria Vega is a fairy and she is next line for her Kingdom's throne, as soon as she gets married, but before her wedding someone tries to kill her and she's sent away with a body guard, Jadelyn West, until the hit is called off. When Tori finally returns will she be able to go through with the wedding or will someone else steal her heart?**

After two day's had passed and Jade could hardly stay conscious for longer than five minute intervals, she still refused to tell Tori exactly what happened. Tori couldn't take it anymore, Jade wasn't getting any better and she had no clue what to do. So she started packing up food and clothing, and at the last minute grabbed two of Jade's throwing daggers and her sword. Hiding be damned she was getting them some help.

Her eyes turned to Jade's sleeping form. If she left Jade here, would the girl come after her in her weakened state? She made her choice. She packed up more clothes and pulled her cloak around her shoulders. After she readied Midnight and she carefully carried Jade out to the horse. Of course she had no clue how far away Trace really was, but she would find it, and an Inn and she would get help.

Trace was about half a day's journey from the cabin, and as she got closer she focused her energy on her appearance. Her hair fell in golden locks around her paler face and her eyes turned green. She looked bizarre to say the least, but she didn't look like herself and that was the point. She entered the city and rode straight to the large building with the sign 'Inn' hanging in front of it beside a green and gold flag, the flag of Trace.

Jade started to wake as she slowed Midnight to a steady walk as they entered the town, "Tori?"

"Shush, just stay awake, okay?" Jade nodded, seeming completely confused. Tori helped her down and swung herself off the saddle just as a teenager with dark brown hair and dark eyes came around from the back, offering to take Midnight to the stables. Tori gave him three gold pieces and then hooked her arm around Jade's back just in time to stop her from collapsing.

There weren't too many people inside, and the Inn Keeper didn't question Jade's state of semi-consciousness, she simply helped Tori carry her up the stairs to their room, "I'd like to request nobody enters without knocking, and if there is no answer not to come in." Tori said, passing over four gold coins. The woman nodded and disappeared. Jade was once again unconscious on the bed, sweating profusely.

Tori walked over and rolled up the hem of Jade's shirt, checking the wound on her guard's stomach that hadn't started healing. She cleaned it out and carefully bandaged it up before cleaning the cuts on Jade's face and the large gash over her thigh before tucking her into the bed.

Once she was sure Jade was covered adequately she perched herself in the window of the room, much like Jade had done before, and she stared out over the Kingdom of Trace. Once upon a time Jade had been the Princess of this town, and once upon a time this had been a fine place to live. But this place looked as rough and tumble as Pythos, and in the distance the castle, though well preserved, seemed to be more terrifying than any castle should, the large fence made of black iron with terrifying spikes loomed over the town and the plethora of houses between the bustling market and the castle, scaring even Tori.

After double checking on Jade the next morning Tori wandered down to the Inn's lobby. There weren't too many people inside, but the Inn Keeper was behind the bar drying out a glass, "good morning, Miss." Tori greeted. The Inn keeper gave her a tired smile, "I was wondering where I might find a healer."

"Well you can try looking for Sikowitz, but not too many people know where the bumbling drunk is now-a-days, but he was once the healer of the Royal family of Trace. But take care when going out, Trace was once a safe place, but now you may not survive to make it back, especially not if your asking about Sikowitz." Tori nodded.

"What happened to this place?" Tori asked, whispering as her eyes flickered to the man at a table in the corner.

"The Kingdom was overthrown by the Oli-." Her eyes flicker to the man in the corner nervously, "I've said too much. Find Sikowitz, I will keep an eye out for your companion, check the tavern." Tori nodded, not needing to be told twice, she scurried outside. It was cold and she pulled her cloak around her tighter, searching for the tavern for fifteen minutes before she stumbled upon it. Sighing and happy to be out of the cold she stiffened her spine and pushed the door open. A few people turned to look at her as she moved past them to the bar.

"What can I get ya?" the man behind the bar asked.

"I'm looking for someone named Sikowitz. Used to be a healer?" Tori said. The man gave her a blank stare, she flip a coin onto the bar top. The man told her to check the tavern closer to the castle, and with a scowl Tori left, feet crunching across the ice on the ground.

Her boots suddenly didn't feel thick enough and the cloak wasn't keeping the cold out, it seemed to be getting wet. She paused and looked down at the green fabric. There was snow falling from the sky, melting against her body heat. She caught a drifting flake on her finger and it melted.

_The first snow, my birthday is closer now than ever. _She quickened her pace, slipping into the other tavern. This one seemed to be emptier, and the man behind the bar looked more menacing than at the other tavern. He was slim with large tired eyes and tan skin, "what can I help you with?"

"I was told I could find someone here." She glanced around, stepping closer to him, "A healer called Sikowitz." The man nodded slowly and pointed to a corner. There was a man lying on a table, his thin hair sticking up in random directions. He was snoring softly. With a frown she passed the man a coin, even though he didn't ask for it, and then walked over to the table, nudging the chair with her boot hard enough to move it back an inch. It was enough to wake him.

"What's going on? Closing time already?" he blinked and looked up at her puzzled, "well you're not the bar keep."

"No, I'm not. I need your help. Come on."

"Can't you see I'm sleeping, gotta keep up my energy for when I'm out on the streets." Tori turned to the bar keep confused.

"He lives on the streets, sleeps here during the day." The man explained. Tori pursed her lips in frustration.

"Well I need your help, I'll give you a place to stay tonight-just help me." Sikowitz lifted his head, looking at her with an annoyed expression, ready to fight her back. She put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes.

"Since it's obvious you're not going to give up, fine." He stood and followed her without a word through the cold to the Inn. Tori led him silently up to her room. Jade was still asleep on the bed, and it seemed she hadn't moved since Tori left, "What happened to her?" Sikowitz asked.

"We were at a tavern, and there was someone she was looking for, she made me leave and then the next morning she stumbles in a bloody mess. She doesn't stay awake for more than five minutes and it's now been three days." Tori was proud of her lie, and happy he bought it-or at least didn't question it. Sikowitz sighed and crossed over to Jade, he knelt beside her and lifted her shirt to see her stomach wound.

"I will need to get a few supplies, stay here, I will be back when I can." So Tori waited, she sat in the other bed and watched over Jade the best she could. While she was awake Tori practiced moves with the sword from the book. She learned how the metal object felt as it sliced through the air and how if she twisted her arm too far her wrist hurt and if she struck something wrong it jammed her wrist.

Jade was still out when Sikowitz returned with whatever it was he needed two days later. He knelt beside her bed and lifted her shirt again. He peeled the bandage off, cleaned the wound with water and applied a sticky paste to the wound. He held his hand over her stomach palm down with his eyes closed.

There was a soft blue glow and then nothing. Jade didn't wake up or twitch, but the healer stood and pulled her shirt back into place, "so I was promised a place to sleep?" Tori nodded and motioned to the bed beside Jade's. He crawled right into it, and was snoring in fifteen minutes. Tori sat down on the floor by the door, she watched Jade's chest rise and fall in a steady pattern as the moon rose high in sky, casting its white glow into the room.

She gently rubbed her necklace between her fingers, recalling a time when she'd sit on her bed and watch the moon with her sister softly snoring on the other bed. Her father would often come in during those times with milk and a treat, sitting and telling her stories about the Fairy Goddess of the moon.

It was said she was a marvelous warrior with brown hair and fine pale skin, she was the protector of the innocent, and would watch over them at night when they needed her protection the most. The story usually helped her drift off to sleep, but she had a sneaking suspicion that it was also because of the warm milk. None the less, the thoughts eventually helped her drift to sleep, leaning against the door.

When she woke up she was lying in a bed, not in the cramped ball she remembered falling asleep in by the door. The snoring was gone and she heard someone walking around, cracking her eyes open she stared at the door. That meant she was lying in Jade's bed.

She sat up quickly, scanning the room until she found Jade by the changing screen. She jumped out of the bed and rushed at Jade, catching her off guard as she threw her arms around the shorter girl, hugging her tightly, "Jade! You're better! I was so worried about you." Jade returned the hug, holding Tori in the air against her for a few minutes before setting her down, cheeks red.

"Yeah, thanks." Jade mumbled her gaze turning to Sikowitz who was grinning at the pair from his perch in the window. Jade stuck her tongue out at him childishly and he laughed, holding his stomach as his eyes crinkled at the edges.

"Same childish behavior I remember you so fondly for, Princess." Jade smiled, this one reaching into her eyes and making the glamour flicker long enough that her green eyes sparkled with innocent joy before the cold blue returned and she turned her eyes to the ground, "you have the medicine, so I bid you goodbye, Princesses." He bowed deeply before the two, his shirt tails scraping the ground.

"Goodbye, Erwin." Jade said, seeming to fight within herself to reach out to him. He nodded slowly and straightened, leaving without another word. Tori's stomach twisted when she saw the pain on Jade's face, but the pain quickly vanished behind her mask as Jade packed up their things and dragged Tori down the stairs without a word. Tori paid for the use of their room and went to get Midnight from the stables.

When she returned with the horse Jade was standing immobile looking up at the castle, she didn't seem to notice Tori's approach, and Tori used the opportunity to study Jade. The girl's face seemed stony but her eyes were shinning with unshed tears. Tori reached forward and took Jade's hand in her own, giving it a gentle squeeze. Jade squeezed Tori's hand back and laced her pale fingers through Tori's tan fingers, walking beside Midnight toward the gates of the Kingdom, turning for one more glance before the castle became invisible beyond the market.

She held Tori's hand until the sun started to sink beyond the horizon. They weren't close enough to town to keep moving so Jade led them off the path, she finally dropped Tori's hand when they found a small clearing. Using the blanket beneath Midnight's saddle she made a small makeshift bed, just big enough for the pair of them, at the base of the tree.

Tori sat nervously beside Jade who was writing away in a journal, she made sure to stare into the forest, fighting with all of her will power not to look at the words on the page. She was happy when Jade tucked the book away and leaned against the base of the tree, sighing.

"I'm sorry I brought you to Trace." Tori whispered, "I just thought I'd have better luck saving you there than in Pythos…"

Jade turned her head to Tori and searched her face, then she let her eyelids fall over her eyes and exhaled slowly, "You did the right thing, I might have died other wise. Thank you, Tori, for saving me." Tori searched for Jade's hand in the darkness and wrapped her fingers around Jade's hand when she finally found it, she squeezed once and Jade squeezed back, her head dropping gently on top of Tori's.

Tori's heart jumped in her chest, beating painfully against her rib cage as her heart caught in her throat. The smell of Jade's hair surrounded her; it smelled like mint and jasmine. She inhaled in what she hoped was a discrete way and leaned against Jade. It didn't take her long to fall asleep beside Jade; she found herself awake one moment and asleep the next.

The birds woke her sometime later; the sun was just peaking through the sky. Jade was stretched out beside her, one arm tucked between them the other over Tori's stomach, her body pressed close to the other girls. Tori smiled, pushing a piece of hair from Jade's forehead. She was content to just go back to sleep, but then she heard the boots. Her stomach dropped and she sat up quickly, searching for the sword, it was propped up beside the tree.

She elbowed Jade harshly in the ribs and pressed her hand over the dark haired girls mouth, she pointed to her ear, hoping Jade got the hint, and waited. The sound of boots reached her ears again and Jade snatched the sword up using it to point at the blanket and spun her finger through the air. Tori took it to mean 'pack up'. She did so quickly and quietly. She loaded the saddle bags, put the blanket back onto Midnight and fastened the saddle.

The boots got closer, and Tori soon made out more than two sets of boots. Soon three men had entered their small clearing. They were all dressed in armor with green and gold accents. The colors of Trace. "I knew we'd find them out here. Even drunks know what they're talking about sometimes." One said, the other two laughed, "Grab the Princess, I'll take care of her guard." He lunged forward, and the sound of metal clanging against metal made Tori cringe. The other two came at her.

They were big, but not as big as the guy going after Jade. Tori rationalized that she could try to take them on, but she'd get farther if she ran, because they wouldn't expect a fight from her. She glanced at Jade, fighting fiercely with the big guy and bolted deeper into the woods. She was glad she'd picked pants yesterday before they left, running in a dress would have been hard. Her heart beat in her throat and she felt like she'd swallowed an icicle sideways. The ground was iced over in some spots and soaked in others which made running very difficult.

Trees dropped snow the ground behind her her and icicles hung from their branches. Tori ran until the men were far enough away that she could stop and catch her breath, and then she climbed up into a tree, not sure she could fight after running so far and so fast. They ran past, assuming she'd continued on, and Tori exhaled softly, hoping they'd keep running. She, however, forgot one very important thing. The snow on the ground would show that she didn't actually go that way and when they figured it out they'd backtrack until they found her prints.

And they were a lot smarter than they looked.

"This is where her tracks stop." One of them said as he pointed to the snow beneath her feet. Tori cursed under her breath as she watched them, _don't look up, don't look up._ She chanted silently. But a bit of snow fell from the branch above her and fell right at their feet, they looked up and she was spotted.

"Well lookie what I found. A princess trapped in a tree." Her heart beat in her skull and she panicked, her hands shook. She was trapped, and there was nowhere for her to go but down, and if she went down they'd just grab her and carry her off. She stood no chance _Unless…_she looked down at them with fearful eyes as she played up the scared little girl act.

"Come on down now, we won't hurt you. You're worth a lot more alive." Tori slowly climbed to the ground where the bigger of the two grabbed her up and pulled her arms behind her back as his dagger pressed against her throat, "now walk."

Without so much as a whimper Tori started to walk forward, chin held high and eyes fixed on the space in front of her, she just had to wait for the perfect snow topped branch. When she spotted it she grinned and closed her eyes and focused on the energy inside of her until a vicious wind ripped through them and the snow and icicles flung from the branches. The man reacted quickly and dropped her to protect himself from the rain of icicles; Tori pitched herself forward and crawled past the tree as fast as possible on her hands and knees.

The other man had the same idea and grabbed her ankle to keep her from standing, she spun and kicked at his face, missing and instead making contact with his shoulder. It was a decent blow that made him drop his foot and she jumped up in time to stand her ground against the other guard who swung his large fists at her, one caught her cheek but she managed to block the other and catch his chin with a weak blow. He rubbed his chin and laughed, studying her before her threw a fake punch toward her face that she blocked, and then he swung up at her ribs. She stepped out of the way and brought her left hand out to push away his punch while she threw a punch with her right to his nose.

She felt the crunch beneath the numbness in her hands and blood rolled from his nose, he took a few surprised steps backward and Tori used the distraction to find the other guy, who was behind her, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, so she grabbed his forearms and flipped him over her back, it hurt her neck but it worked. He landed with a gasp and she ran back toward where she thought Jade was. The bigger man caught up with her. He manipulated a tree to trip her with a root.

Her face scraped across a jagged patch of ice and burned enough to make tears roll from her eyes. She rolled onto her back as he slammed his foot into her rib cage in a painful blow, she grabbed his ankle, though, and curled around it, something that confused him. He tried to shake her off but she leaned in and bit his calf roughly until he tried to back away and fell. She let him go and got to her feet and hobbled away as quickly as she could.

She struggled to stay on her feet as she moved, she stopped often to use the trees to help her stay on her feet, or leaned against one to catch her breath. Her lungs felt like they were on fire, her face burned as the icy cold bit at her raw exposed flesh and she struggled to keep her mind focused on the only important thing, getting back to Jade.

Lucky for her, she heard the sound of metal against metal and stumbled into the clearing as Jade's sword plunged into the mans stomach. Tori grimaced and turned away, she heard the sound of a body fall against the ground. "Tori? Are you alright?" she turned her head slowly toward Jade and gave her a weak smile.

"Are they still coming?"

"I don't think so, or they might have caught me by now." Jade nodded and tucked her sword into its sheath.

"Can you walk?"

"Sure." Tori took a few nervous steps but breathing hurt more and more and she stumbled over some ice and landed on her knees, she cried out. Jade walked over silently and lifted Tori from the ground. Midnight followed Jade without instruction back to the cabin. When she got inside she had Tori sit on the edge of the bed, gathered the things from the saddle bag and left Midnight to find the way to the stables alone.

She set her bags on the floor and walked to the tub and filled it with warm water. Jade then grabbed a bucket to do the same. She kneeled in front of Tori and started to clean up the huge gash on her face from the ice. She pulled bits of dirt and rubble from the wound. Tori's fingers dug into the sheets on the bed and her eyes twisted in pain.

Jade worked slowly and was as gentle as she could be as she cleaned the cuts on Tori's throat, palms and knees. She brought in a handful of snow and forced Tori to hold it on her ribs for fifteen minutes before she carried Tori to the tub and set her in the warm water softly. Tori sighed in relief and Jade sat down with her back against the tub.

"Your face is bruised and bleeding, Jade." Tori whispered. Jade looked up at Tori and shrugged, "get me a towel so I can clean it up." Without a word Jade got the towel and handed it to Tori before she knelt beside the tub. Tori pulled her feet under her body in the water and leaned over the tub, gently wiping away dried blood until she found the wound, a small cut by her temple.

She rubbed the wet cloth over it slowly, watching the injury heel in a matter of seconds. She reached out and ran her thumb over the spot, eyes wide with wonder. Jade reached up and covered Tori's hand with her own, holding her soft palm against her cheek. Tori felt her heart beating against her rib cage and her cheeks got warm. Jade closed her eyes and rested her cheek against Tori's palm, not saying a word, and Tori just stared at the girl in front of her, completely baffled.

Jade suddenly pulled away and stood up, "I'm going to check on Midnight." She rushed out of the cabin, leaving Tori to stare after her. Five minutes later when Jade still hadn't returned Tori sunk under the water to soak her hair and slowly washed herself, grabbing a towel and stepping out of the water. She dried off and found a warmer gown, pulling it down over her head before she crawled into her bed, snuggling under the covers to keep warm.

Her mind drifted slowly from the fight to trying to get to the town and finally settled on the Inn Keepers odd behavior. _"The Kingdom was overthrown by the Oli-." _Who could they be? The Oleanders? Olivanders? Oliver? Oliver. She shot that idea down; surely the man she was meant to marry couldn't be part of the family that had taken down Trace. But could it be? Were they trying to take over Vallestia, too?

She shook the thought from her mind-it was ridiculous. She fell asleep before Jade returned, and didn't wake when the girl finally stomped back inside, shaking snow from her clothes. She changed without bathing into a similar dress and stood beside Tori's bed, looking down at the girl sleeping peacefully. The wound on her face was almost completely healed. Jade let her finger tips run over Tori's delicate face before she turned away and crawled into her own bed.


	8. Chapter 7

**Victoria Vega is a fairy and she is next line for her Kingdom's throne, as soon as she gets married, but before her wedding someone tries to kill her and she's sent away with a body guard, Jadelyn West, until the hit is called off. When Tori finally returns will she be able to go through with the wedding or will someone else steal her heart?**

When Tori awoke it was late the next afternoon and she could just make out Jade outside through the window as she landed on the ground, wings shimmering for a moment before disappearing. Jade walked inside wiping sweat from her forehead and breathing heavily, "afternoon, Vega."

"Morning." Tori said, rubbing her eyes with her fists and yawning loudly. Jade went to the small kitchen and grabbed some bread, ripping pieces off and popping them into her mouth. Tori pushed herself up and leaned against the wall yawning again, "anything planned for the day?"

"Not a thing. You should rest, your face isn't completely healed and your ribs are still pretty bruised up." Jade walked over to the bookshelf and ran her finger across the spines of a few books. She pulled out a thick book bound in red leather and handed it to Tori, "maybe read this, I'm sure it'll give you some interesting things to try out."

It was a book on combat with and without weapons, "you're really going to make me stay in bed?"

"I'm asking you to stay in bed. I'm not making you do anything. If you choose to get up, you get up." Jade shrugged her shoulders, "I'll be outside if you need me." Tori nodded her head sullenly and flipped open the book.

Jade pulled her hair up and secured it with a leather tie near at the top of her head. She changed into a pair of ripped above the knee pants and a ratty shirt before leaving Tori with her book and going outside. Back at the palace the guards did daily workouts, and after the fight yesterday Jade realized how truly out of shape she was.

Starting once again with her stretches she went into her routine. It felt right to be moving like she used to, with her eyes closed she felt like she was back at the palace training with her friends. Her body spun through the air as she kick, and she landed swiftly on one foot, one hand on the ground to steady her and then she spun her body around and stood, swinging her foot back around.

When she stopped in her final stance and opened her eyes she was disappointed to find she was still at her old cabin. Wiping the cold sweat from her eyebrow she picked up her sword. She'd cleaned it the best she could but there was still some blood dried on it. She shoved it as far into the ground as it would go and pulled it back out, happy to find the soil had cleaned it completely.

With the reminder of what she had done wiped away Jade continued her training. Though she'd never been fond of weapons in combat she was well trained with a sword, knives and the bow and arrow. Next she moved on to flight maneuvers, something she'd only seen practiced. Then she went to get Midnight from the stalls.

Inside Tori was just finishing the ninth chapter of the book. She pushed it aside and carefully swung her legs off the edge of the bed, she inhaled sharply as she stood, her knees ached, and inhaling made her ribs light on fire. She held them tightly as she shuffled across the house with her book to the chair by the window.

Jade was outside riding Midnight around the small clearing in front of the house, but it didn't last long and soon she started to brush Midnight down and feed him carrots. Tori could just barely see her mouth moving as she talked to the horse. Jade looked sad and conflicted, it made Tori uncomfortable; knowing that it was her fault Jade was so upset.

She curled up and continued to read the book, occasionally glancing out the window. Jade was running through the training regimen Tori had seen the guards practice on more than a few occasions. She found herself staring at Jade more than she should, watching the way her stomach muscles moved as she twisted her body and the way her cheeks flushed faint pink as sweat glistened on her skin.

When Jade walked back in around dusk Tori had shoved the book away, she'd been too preoccupied watching Jade practice, "it's getting colder and colder. You should probably put on some more layers, Vega." Jade said as she passed, heading for the tub. Sometimes Jade would pull the changing screen across the tub, but today she chose not to.

She lifted her shirt off over her head and tossed it aside along with her pants. Tori scolded herself silently for staring but didn't look away. Jade's skin was the same pale color of her dolls at home and looked just as smooth, she wondered what it would feel like to touch the skin of Jade's back, would it feel as silky smooth as her dolls?

Jade sunk into the tub and rested her head back on the edge, sighing, and closed her eyes. Her chest moved up and down rhythmically, warm water rolled over her shoulders and down her chest and Tori couldn't help herself as she watched the lines of water trace over Jade's breasts. When she realized what she was doing her face burned and she jumped quickly from the chair, crying out softly when her knees and ribs protested the movement. Jade shot up quickly. Half out of the tub, water dripping from her skin

"I'm fine!" Tori cried, her voice cracking, face burning so hot she wondered if it was melting, "I'm going to go out for a minute." She hoped Jade would notice that her cheeks were crimson or that she couldn't help sneaking glances at her body as she shoved on her boots, grabbed her cloak and ran out the door. The cold air bit at her warm cheeks but helped her clear her mind and slowly she stopped thinking about touching Jade's skin or the way Jade's breasts looked with the water dripping down them.

_You should not be thinking about her like that-she's your guard not your lover._ She scolded herself, _oh but if she weren't. _She scowled at her thoughts and stomped toward the horse's stables, intent on squashing out those thoughts. She slipped into the stables to get out of the wind. She paused at Midnight's door, leaning in to give him a carrot and pat his snout before she took a step to the other stall.

Jade had carefully etched 'Calypso' into the stall door, "so that's your name, huh? Calypso. I like it." Tori dragged over a stool hopped on it and offered Calypso a carrot. She took it from Tori's hand and munched happily while the princess rubbed her between the eyes, "you seem much happier now that you're out here with us. Jade told me about how the guy was afraid to sell you to someone."

The horse whinnied and puffed air out its nose, making the ends of Tori's hair tickle her cheeks. She pushed the hair away and smiled, hopping off of the stool and opening the stall door she stepped inside and grabbed the brush. While she brushed Calypso she talked about Jade, she realized she couldn't stop. As soon as she started talking all of her thoughts just bubbled out of her mouth.

"I mean, she used to hate me-I don't doubt that for a second, but now it's like we're almost friends. And I don't want to ruin that with my silly fantasies, she would never see me that way. I'm just a spoilt brat with everything she was forced to give up. I couldn't even stand on my own two feet when we left."

Calypso snorted and tossed her head back, stepping and blocking Tori in the back of the stall, "whoa, hey, no need to agree so fiercely." Calypso started to back up and Tori flattened against the side of the stall, following the horse's stare to the ground. A large tuft of black was sticking out under the stall door, "It's okay." Tori murmured, slowly edging around the horse to the door, happy to be in front of the horse, the tuft disappeared and when Tori peered over the edge of the stall door she found a black fuzzy large cat giving itself a bath, tail flicking back and forth.

Carefully she opened the door and squatted to the cat's level, it took notice of her and eyed her, and the horse, suspiciously. Tori sat down on the ground with her back against the stall and resumed her conversation with Calypso, "ya know my birthday is coming up soon, I'm going to get my wings. Now I don't know where I'm going to be, I hope I'm not alone. I hope Jade is with me." she turned back to talking about Jade. Soon the horse calmed down and stopped watching the cat, "so what do you think, Calypso?"

The horse blew air from her nose and her tail swung lazily behind her and then she turned her pale eyes to the cat. Tori turned her dark eyes to the cat, too. The cat was edging its way into her lap, and soon it settled down, digging its claws into her pants before it curled up. Absently Tori rubbed the cat, "I should really just give up, huh?"

"Give up what?" Tori jumped and swung her head around. Jade was standing by the stall door, her hair was tied back in a nice braid. Tori scowled, Jade's eyes flicked to the cat and she turned to Calypso.

"Wandered in here, scared Calypso. Figured I could sit and talk to them, keep them some company. Give you some space." She turned to the cat and ran her fingers through its long hair, its purring reverberating on her lap. Jade leaned against the door jam and exhaled slowly.

"Well we should go back in, bring the cat." Tori stood up with the cat in her arms, expecting it to protest. But it just snuggled closer to her and allowed her to carry it inside with Jade. As soon as the door was shut the cat jumped from her arms and inspected the house fully. Jade kicked off her boots and Tori kicked off hers, setting both sets by the door before she hung up her cloak. "How are your ribs?" Jade stepped up to her and lifted Tori's shirt before the other girl could protest.

She ran her pale fingers across Tori's tan skin just faintly enough that goose bumps shot across her skin, she jumped slightly, but Jade either didn't notice or didn't care as she continued her inspection. She was leaning so close that her warm breath fanned across Tori's stomach and she inhaled sharply, her stomach muscles tightening.

Jade laughed and pushed gently on her ribcage, Tori didn't flinch in pain but pulled away from Jade, cheeks burning, "all better, see?" she pushed her shirt down and spun around heading for her bed. She sunk down onto the mattress and picked up her book again, burying her nose in the book to hide her face.

"You okay over there, Princess?"

"Yep." Tori replied shortly, she felt the bed move by her feet and soon the cat had worked his way into her lap between her and the book. He laid down on her chest and curled up. The cat blocked her vision but soon it started purring happily and she decided to set the book aside.

She stroked the cat's fur and felt its spine beneath its fur. The cat was large and heavy, but it still seemed skinner than it should be. She frowned at it, "poor thing, can't be much food around since its winter."

Jade dropped a plate on the floor, "that's all of our food it's getting." Jade ordered sternly, Tori nodded in response as the cat launched itself off her chest and dropped on the ground neatly beside the meat, tearing into it viciously. Tori leaned back against the bed and closed her eyes, sighing heavily, "you alright? You ran out of here really fast."

"Yeah, just getting a little restless after sitting all day and reading a book, ya know? Figured I'd go check out the horses. Lucky for that little guy." The cat was still happily tearing into the chunk of beef Jade had laid out for it. Jade smiled at the cat before laying down on her bed, curled up on her side around her pillow, "Hey Jade?"

"Yes?"

"If I'm stuck here during my birthday….I don't want to be alone for that." she slumped down until she was laying on her side and curled around her pillow, hiding her face half behind it out of some weird sort of childish shame. She hated that she wasn't strong enough to be alone for it.

"I won't let you be alone, I promise." Jade said, smiling reassuringly at her. Tori smiled back, hiding her face behind her pillow as she giggled. Jade laughed, grinning at Tori when she peaked from behind her pillow. Tori threw her pillow at Jade's face; Jade threw her pillow back roughly, still laughing. It hit Tori's legs and bounced off the other side of the bed.

Tori rolled over and picked up Jade's pillow from the other side of her bed. She tucked it half under her head half under her arm. It smelled like mint and jasmine, like Jade's hair. Jade tucked Tori's pillow under her head and reached forward to turn off the lamp. Tori took the opportunity to inhale the scent trapped in the pillow.

On her bed Jade was burying her face in Tori's pillow, smiling secretly to herself as her heart beat and her stomach fluttered in such a girly way that it almost made her scowl. Instead she buried her face deeper in the pillow and closed her eyes. Tori didn't fall asleep until the cat curled up behind her back and warmed her through her shirt. She inhaled the mint jasmine combination one last time before she let her mind wander until she fell asleep.

When Tori woke up it was to an aching between her shoulder blades that was just painful enough to bother but not enough to hinder her. She slowly sat up, much to the cats protest, and stood, reaching her arms high over her head until her lower back popped. She sighed and slowly lowered her arms, rolling her neck gently to loosen it up and then she sat back down on the edge of the bed. Jade was still asleep on her bed, now with the cat curled up in the curve of her legs.

Her incredibly pale, bare, soft looking legs. Tori's eyes widened when she noticed Jade's pants were pooled beside the bed and her eyes traveled from her ankles up her legs and into the blanket draped carefully across her lower half. With burning cheeks she turned away from Jade and grabbed her boots and cloak before stomping outside, desperate to clear her head. She found herself back in Calypso's stall, sitting on the ground after filling their food buckets with feed and cleaning out the stalls and replacing the hay.

She rested her cheek on her knees and closed her eyes, "ya know I haven't really thought much about my parents. I've been so worried about well nothing now, and I just-how could I not wonder about how they're handling this? Have they gotten any closer? They spread a rumor that I was dead, so was someone trying to take over the throne? Clearly _someone _knew I wasn't dead." Calypso's tail swung and brushed over her hair as the horse carefully turned in the stall.

"Should I tell Jade about the woman at the shop? It very well could be him. It would make sense, maybe he'd hired the assassin early? I did postpone the wedding a few times. And if I was married before I died the throne would be shifted to him." It made sense, it really did, but Tori just couldn't see that horrible side of somebody, "my parents surely would know if his family had anything to do with Trace, right?"

This time she heard Jade's boots crunching in the snow as she approached and when the girl stuck her head into the stall and ruffled her hair she wasn't shocked, "so since you fed them and I've got nothing to do how about you tell me your theory and I teach you how to braid? Inside, preferably. How are you not freezing?"

"Born in the cold." Tori shrugged her shoulders and stood, petting Calypso's mane softly before she followed Jade back to the cabin. Jade sat on her bed and patted the spot next to her. Tori sat beside her nervously, stiffening and sitting as close to the edge as she could. Jade sat forward and showed Tori how to start the braid in her own hair and then had Tori braid it.

"Your hair is so soft." Tori commented as she slid her fingers through it with ease, twisting the stands together in an intricate braid down Jade's back. The braid stopped in the center of Jade's back.

"Yes, I know. Let me brush yours out for you and keep thinking about how you braided that while you tell me your theory about whoever it is that's trying to kill you." Jade quickly slid behind Tori, legs on either side of her while she ran a brush through Tori's hair, starting at the ends and slowly working her way up.

"Well when we were in Trace the Inn keeper was telling me that these people took over but she stopped midway through the name and glanced at some man in the corner. She said 'Oli'. I was wondering if maybe, just maybe, it could be Beckett's family, but that's just ridiculous."

Jade hummed in acknowledgement and her fingers slowed in Tori's hair, "he was anxious all night, like he was worried somebody was going to jump out and attack him. And then that guy attacked you." Jade commented, and then resumed brushing, her mind drifting back to the last night she saw her parents.

_When the Princess finally bounced out of the room they made their way to the dining room where Jade sat with her parents and two older people she did not know. Beside them sat a boy with dark hair and dark eyes._

_She beamed at him, introducing herself with a happy smile as brown curls bounced around her head, "My names Jade, it's nice to meet you!"_

"_Beckett." The boy replied grouchily._

"Jade?" Tori asked, twisting her body to look into her guards eyes. Jade blinked and shook her head, opening her mouth to say something until she realized just how close she was to Tori. Her eyes drifted to Tori's soft lips and her tongue swiped across her own lips before she shook her head to clear her mind and Tori cleared her throat and spun back around.

"He was over for dinner that night. I remember meeting him. He was a grouch." Jade commented sounding on the verge of tears, "his parents were there, too. I don't remember them ever leaving."

Tori frowned and this time spun her body fully around, one leg swung over Jade's and the other tucked under, they were close but this time Tori paid no attention as she softly caressed Jade's face. The girl sounded so sad and so hurt, so _guilty,_ "its not your fault Jade…"

"I should have died with them." She whispered softly, closing her eyes as a few tears rolled down her pale cheeks.

"No." Tori argued, "you were meant to live, for them, to one day return and take back your Kingdom. You are strong, and one day you _will _return. I know you want to, Jade, and when your ready Vallestia will help you."

Jade's eyes snapped open, searching Tori's face in confusion, "How did you?" she trailed off.

"I'm good at reading people Jade, and you rushed out of their so fast. You were so happy seeing Sikowitz, but seeing your beloved Kingdom in the shape it was hurt you. You want to save it, but you're not ready, and that's okay." Her thumb softly swiped away the tears on Jade's face, she gave her a soft smile and leaned forward, kissing Jade's cheek out of a strong impulse, "it's not your fault Jade, you were so young."

"I miss them, Tori. Everyday and I just feel like I'm such a disappointment, I can't even protect you right! But you expect me to protect an entire Kingdom?" Jade's tears started flowing more fiercely and Tori silently pulled Jade forward. Jade wrapped her arms around Tori's back, nails twisting in the fabric of Tori's shirt as she sobbed. Tori didn't care anymore how uncomfortable she was sitting like this; she just held Jade tight and rubbed her back as she cried.


	9. Chapter 8

**Victoria Vega is a fairy and she is next line for her Kingdom's throne, as soon as she gets married, but before her wedding someone tries to kill her and she's sent away with a body guard, Jadelyn West, until the hit is called off. When Tori finally returns will she be able to go through with the wedding or will someone else steal her heart?**

**A/N: Big thanks to AjAwkwardSauce for editing these past few (and future) chapters for me, because I make the dumbest mistakes sometimes. Thank you so much! You guys should read her stuff if you haven't, it's great!**

Tori and Jade stayed in her bed for the rest of the morning, Jade talking about all the things she'd always wished she could do, and what she always imagined her life would be like if her parents hadn't died. Tori held her hand and rubbed the back of it soothingly, listening as the girl rambled on. Her back continued to ache, but she pushed the thought aside.

"I'm going to check on the horses, I'll be back soon." Jade said about an hour after noon. Tori nodded and released the other girl's hand so she could slide off the bed. Once she was out the door Tori stood, stretching her tired limbs. The cat was asleep on her bed, stretched out, bathing in the sun lights warmth.

"Lucky fur ball." Tori commented, running her fingers through his soft fur. He was solid black, but the ends of his fur were almost smoke colored, making him look like he was a cat slipping from the mist in the darkest parts of the forest. She smiled and tickled his ear enough to make his golden eyes blink open. He swatted at her hand with a bare paw and stretched farther out.

Tori sighed and picked up the book and returned it to the shelf. She read a few more of the titles but found nothing that really interested her, so she changed into a dress, tired of the pants, and slumped down on Jade's bed, and finally braided her hair, "So I think we should take the horses on a ride, maybe head up to Pythos, stock up on some last minute food." Jade said, coming back inside. She kicked snow off of her shoes, "come on, let's go, Princess."

Tori stood and grabbed her shoes from the door, shoved them on her feet and tied up the laces before following Jade out the door. She fastened her cloak around her throat and trailed the guard to the stables. She was shocked when Jade stepped into Midnight's stall and pointed at Calypso.

Without question Tori stepped into the other stall, grabbing the blanket she draped it awkwardly over the tall horses back and then heaved the saddle onto her back, fastening it securely. She offered Calypso a carrot and let her eat it before she put on the bridle and led her out of the stables with Midnight. Jade easily mounted Midnight without protest from the horse. Jade had ridden Midnight since the year after she arrived at the castle.

Calypso didn't seem to mind at all and after petting her snout for a few minutes Tori walked beside her and slid on foot in the stirrup. She grabbed the horn of the saddle and pulled herself up carefully, swinging her leg over and settling on the strange saddle. It wasn't as worn in as Midnight's, and she new she wouldn't enjoy this too much, but she liked the higher vantage point the huge horse offered.

They led the horses in a slow walk through the icy forest, when they reached the still dirt patches of the road they picked up their speed. Tori's legs were already aching halfway into the trip, but she kept her mouth shut as they road. When they reached the town Tori ran her hand over her hair again, altering it back to the strange golden brown and green eyed combination.

Jade turned and smiled at her before they led the horses into town, both dismounting when they reached the market. Tori found a goat for a decent price, knowing she could use it for butter and milk and a chicken for eggs while Jade went straight for deer meat. Once they were done Jade tied the goat to Midnight to walk with it and took the chicken. Tori carried the meat and stayed a distance away from Jade to keep Calypso from freaking out.

As they traveled Tori sang under her breath, and soon out loud. It was a song she used to sing during her riding practices because when she was little she was terrified of the huge horse they had for her to ride. Her horse's name was Lady, she was a large horse with a golden coat and amber eyes. She wasn't as large as Calypso, but to tiny five year old Tori she was massive. So she'd sing herself a song to keep her mind away from how high up she was.

Jade stopped and untied the goat and the chicken, taking them to a pen beside the house, "Mind if I keep riding?" Tori asked when they reached the cottage, the center of her back was starting to ache but she wasn't ready to be back in the cottage yet.

Jade looked up, brushing her hair from her face, "Sure, just come back before nightfall. And take this." She passed Tori her sword and Tori handed her the bag of meat. Tori nodded and slipped the swords sheath strap around her so it sat at her back. Then she led Calypso onto a path through the forest. The trees looked beautiful and so did all of the snow on the ground, when she wasn't fleeing from somebody she thought it was the most beautiful place she could be. She sang to Calypso as they went through the forest, thinking of her own mother and father.

If she was home she would be wed now, to Beckett. She scowled; she would be preparing to take the throne with Beckett as her King. What was he doing now? Surely he'd returned to his own Kingdom, awaiting a new bride. Suddenly Calypso stopped, Tori's eyes snapped into focus as the horse snorted and looked around, and suddenly two of the three men from before emerged from the trees. Tori gripped the reins and pulled them to turn the horse around but Calypso reared back and made the most terrifying sound Tori had ever heard.

The men rushed at them and Calypso bolted. All Tori could do was hold on and pray she would make it home, but Calypso was running in the opposite direction, hooves pounding against the ground. Tori ducked her head and gripped the horse around the neck as she squeezed with her calves. The men were behind her, panting with the exertion. And Calypso suddenly turned left and took off away from the path, through some water and the men had to slow down. Calypso ran until they were deep in the forest and then she slowed. Tori dismounted, standing on wobbly legs, she leaned back against a tree.

"Thanks, girl." Tori murmured, reaching out to stroke Calypso's cheek, taking off her reins. She reached up to a low branch and waited for the apples to appear. She gave one to Calypso and kept the other for herself, taking vicious bites to calm her nerves, "we have to keep moving." So they walked and Tori ate her apple, annoyed at herself for changing into the dress as the cold of winter bit at her calves. She rolled her shoulders to try and relieve the pain in her back,

The men never catch up with her and the sun set before she could figure out which way was the right way back. She didn't mind, instead she wandered with Calypso and hoped Jade wasn't too worried. Her back started aching more as the next day approached. The way Tori calculated it she had two more days until the dawn of her 17th birthday, "well I think you and I should find a way back, okay? Want me to walk?" Calypso halted and waited. Tori slipped the bridle back on and mounted. Calypso walked without direction, ignoring it even if it came, and soon Tori gave up. She covered herself with the cloak and as much of Calypso as she could manage.

It was darker than ever, the night was nearly pitch black and only the glow from the full yellow moon directed the horse. Tori's back was starting to feel worse and her legs ached from all of the riding. Worry started eating at her mixed with guilt, would Jade go out to look for her? Was Jade okay? What if the men had found her? She sat up, suddenly _very _worried. Calypso sped up and soon she was galloping through the trees with ease.

The hours dragged on and they didn't get any closer, she couldn't imagine that they had gone that far, but dawn was going to be here any moment and she was exhausted. She pulled Calypso to a halt and dismount, "I have to sleep." Tori told the horse when it protested, so she stopped and swung around, standing in front of Tori where she slumped against the base of a tree, wrapped in her cloak.

Birds woke her up some time later, the sun was high in the sky and Calypso was grazing on a small patch of grass. Tori groaned as she stood, catching the horses attention, and when she was fully standing she dusted the snow off of her and shook her hair clean. The braid she had put it in smacked her in the face. She tossed it back over her shoulder, "Ready to go home, Calypso?" the horse made a nickering sound and Tori settled herself on the saddle. Fixing the sword over her back again, "we'll be home soon and you can rest with Midnight, I've got some apples and carrots for you if you get me home."

Tori's entire body should have been aching, she assumed, from almost a full day and a half of riding, but she felt fine except for the pain between her shoulders. She sagged with relief when the cabin came into view in the dim afternoon light; the only thing on her mind was a warm bath to thaw out her body. She dismounted and unbridled and unsaddled Calypso, leaving the blanket on her back. She filled the feeding trough with feed Jade made and some cut up apples and carrots.

She noticed Midnight was gone, and when she walked around the front of the cabin she was disappointed to find Jade had not taken him out for a brushing. She pushed open the cabin door and peered around. Everything seemed okay, and then she found the note on the counter.

_Stay put, please. I'll be back. –J._

Tori smiled at the note and folded it, tossing it onto her bed. She turned up the oil lamp and walked to the tub, filling it with warm water. Steam curled through the cold air and she smiled happily. Stripping off her dress and folding it at the end of the bed she slipped into the warm water. It burned against her cold skin, but dulled the aching in her back. She sighed and carefully undid her braid, letting her hair soak up the warm water as she slipped beneath the surface.

When she emerged she grabbed a bar of soap and cleaned her skin before rinsing off and stepping out. The towel she used to dry off was rough and scratchy but it did the job and then she pulled on a new dress and sat down on the edge of her bed, brushing out and braiding her hair, leaving half of it hanging down around her face. She tied off the end of the braid and stood up again, walking around the small cottage. None of the books looked interesting enough for her, so she continued her path around the cottage until she found a small table tucked in a corner with a dusty music box.

She brushed the dust off and looked at the name inscribed on it '_Queen Jasmine Weston'. _It belonged to Jade's mother. Carefully she lifted the lid, a soft melody slipped from inside, she closed her eyes. She knew this song, she learned how to dance to this song. She closed her eyes and let the box remain open as she danced, holding her arms up as if she was dancing with somebody else.

She loved to dance, it was her favorite thing about the palace life. All of the balls that were held meant she got to dance. She loved the feeling of being pulled around a dance floor, as if she were floating through the air, lost in another world with her partner. The cottage was small but she had enough room to dance, a grin on her face. She tripped over the cat and went tumbling forward, eyes open and hands out. Fear pushed her heart into her throat until suddenly somebody caught her and lifted her back into position before dragging her around in the dance.

"Jade." Tori smiled at her, Jade returned the smile. They danced until the song started over and Jade gave Tori one final spin before pulling her back flush against her. Tori's breath hitched in her throat as she stared into Jade's green eyes, "Your eyes are so beautiful." Tori whispered, leaning forward a few inches. She felt Jade's breath fan across her lips, she stomach twisted, and she thought she should pull away, but she didn't try to move. Jade leaned in closer, there lips almost touching, just small breaths between them, and then the cat yowled loudly, the girls blinked and hastily stepped apart, Tori looking toward her feet while Jade looked toward the cat.

"What do you want, fur ball?" Jade grumbled. Tori sighed and moved closer to her bed, "You okay?"

"Mmm. My back." She mumbled.

"You've got a few more hours." Jade commented, "I found out the date finally, December 18th. Tomorrow is your birthday. When the sun starts to rise…" Tori nodded and curled up on her bed.

Jade was by her side instantly lying opposite her, knees touching, she distracted Tori with stories she made up out of nowhere, but soon Tori was clenching her teeth as her bones started to ache and nothing was comfortable, "water." Tori asked softly, Jade jumped up and got her water and then kneeled in front of the bed, helping Tori drink. Tori's skin looked paler and she was sweating, her face burning hot.

Jade continued to tell Tori stories while helping her drink water to try and combat the burning skin. Tori tried her hardest not to fall out during the stories, so she watched Jade's face and enjoyed how animated her guard was telling the tales. It was nearly day break when Tori cried out, fists clenching in the sheets. Bright light swallowed her body and she lifted from the bed. It got brighter and brighter and soon Tori was screaming loudly. And then the light went out and her body plummeted back toward the bed, Jade caught her before she rolled off the edge of it.

Golden wisps filled the air coming out of her back like drops of sun to frame wings and soon a pair of golden wings flapped testingly on her back. Tori was curled up on her bed, face buried in the pillow, "Jade…" she whimpered.

"I'm right here, Tori." Jade lifted her small frame and tucked onto the bed beneath, lifting the canteen to her lips, "Drink some water." Tori did as she was told and then pulled her knees to her chest and fell asleep against Jade, one hand twisted in Jade's shirt, the other tucked beneath her cheek. Jade held her through the day and into the next night, sleeping on and off while listening out for anybody approaching the house.

Tori woke the next day, her wings gone, curled up in Jade's lap with the cat warming their feet. Jade was singing softly. She pretended her was still asleep until Jade stopped singing, "how are you feeling, Princess?" Jade asked, Tori turned her head up toward Jade and carefully rolled over onto the bed to stretch out her limbs.

"I'm a little sore." She mumbled, rubbing her lower back, "how long was I out?"

"For a day." Jade replied with a shrug, "I wanted to tell you yesterday, but I found something out. I was minding my own business checking around Pythos for you when those men walked in, they were talking about the bid on our heads and said it was placed by Cynthia Oliver, _Queen of Trace._" The amount of hatred in those words made Tori's stomach twist nervously.

"So what now?" Tori asked, "do we go back to Vallestia?"

"I think so." Jade replied, "in a few days. There is a snow storm coming, so we're going to be stuck. I'm going to stock the horses up on feed and give their stalls one last mucking out. Get up and drink some water, eat some bread." Tori nodded and Jade walked out, wrapping her cloak around her body.

Slowly, Tori lifted herself out of bed and walked across the house to grab the canteen. She filled it with water and took careful sips while taking a piece of bread from the loaves. She nibbled on it slowly sitting in the chair by the window. Her back ached dully, but nothing like the way it felt the night before. She leaned back against the chair and winced a little.

Jade came back in a few minutes later, dusting snow off of her shoulders, she smiled at Tori and hung her cloak on a hook, shutting and locking the door, "snows already coming down pretty hard. We're stuck now." She leaned down and scooped the cat up, "just me, you and the fur ball." She set the cat on her bed and it quickly curled up on the end of the bed, watching Tori.

"Should be a fun few days."

"Should be." Jade smiled. Tori stood and walked around, rolling her shoulders, "why don't you lay down? I'll massage your back for you." Jade offered, standing from her spot next to the cat and pointing at Tori's bed Tori obliged and stretched out across her bed. Jade sat down beside her and gently massaged the spot between her shoulder blades. Tori sighed and flattened against the mattress.

Jade continued to massage Tori's back every so often, her mind working on a plan to get back into the palace if Beckett was still there, which she suspected he was. Tori rolled over and settled between Jade's legs with her head on Jade's stomach. Neither of them said anything.

Tori started to feel cold, her body shaking the darker it got. Jade lifted herself and Tori up and dragged the blankets over her body, holding Tori at her side, "so what exactly happened to you that you got lost?"

Tori launched into the story of the men coming up on her and what happened with Calypso. Jade listened quietly and rubbed Tori's shoulder under the covers absently while she talked, "so where were you?"

"Went through the forest and down to Pythos to see if anybody has captured you. Came back here once I was sure you weren't caught and here you were, dancing. I didn't know you knew that dance."

"I know lots of dances, West. I'm a trained Princess." Tori puffed up her chest with pride. Jade smiled softly, and then grinned.

"We'll have to see about that." Jade said, and she slid out of the bed, dragging Tori with her. She opened the music box and pulled Tori to her. It started out as a typical dance, and then Jade changed styles, Tori kept up effortlessly. It surprised Jade, so she kept switching styles. And Tori kept up effortlessly.

The music box stopped playing but the pair kept dancing. Soon they slowed down, Jade holding Tori close; one hand splayed across her lower back, the other holding Tori's hand. Tori had her free hand resting on Jade's shoulder. They stopped dancing and Tori looked up at Jade.

The oil lamps light flickered across Jade's face, catching her green eyes, it looked as if a fire was burning in her irises. This time Tori didn't speak, she leaned in and moved her hand from Jade's shoulder, up her neck, and cupped her cheek. Jade's eyes locked with hers and she held her breath. Tori leaned forward on her toes, she looked from Jade's eyes to her lips and back. Jade's lips parted slightly and she licked them, but she didn't pull away. Tori closed her eyes and closed the space, pressing her lips gently to Jade's. Her heart hammered in her chest; Jade let go of her hand and put both of her arms around Tori's back, hoisting her up.

Tori held the other side of Jade's face and deepened the kiss, biting down gently on Jade's lower lip. Jade dug her fingers into Tori's back. Tori gasped and Jade's tongue slipped between her parted lips, dancing with Tori's tongue. Tori dug her fingers into Jade's shirt sleeves and pressed her body closer.

Jade walked backwards and broke the kiss briefly before reclaiming Tori's mouth in a deep kiss. She stumbled back until she fell against the bed, Tori tumbling on top of her, lips still locked, limbs tangled. She slipped her fingers into Tori's hair, tangling in the braided part. Using her other hand Jade undid Tori's hair and slipped her fingers through it. Tori broke the kiss and rested her forehead against Jade's, breathing heavily.

Jade continued to run her fingers through Tori's silky hair. Tori opened her eyes slowly and smiled at Jade, Jade smiled back and smoothed out Tori's hair before cupping her cheek, bringing her mouth back for a quick kiss, that turned into multiple kisses. When the cat yowled Jade finally moved away from Tori, resting on her arm to glare at the cat, "keep your mouth shut, useless feline."

"Be nice." Tori chided, reaching up and cupping Jade's face, rubbing her thumb across Jade's cheek with a smile. Jade closed her eyes and smiled, settling back down against the bed, "I'm pretty tired, I think it's time to sleep."

"Alright." Jade sat up and leaned against Tori, turning down the oil lamp before she settled down beside Tori, draping her arm over Tori's hip. Tori tucked herself next to Jade and closed her eyes, yawning softly. It didn't take her long to fall asleep, and Jade followed shortly after.


	10. Chapter 9

**Victoria Vega is a fairy and she is next line for her Kingdom's throne, as soon as she gets married, but before her wedding someone tries to kill her and she's sent away with a body guard, Jadelyn West, until the hit is called off. When Tori finally returns will she be able to go through with the wedding or will someone else steal her heart?**

It took two days for the storm to pass, and during those days Tori snuggled with Jade in her bed with the cat asleep at their feet. They read the many books on the shelf and Jade practiced hand on hand combat with her, often times this led to the pair crashing a mess of tangled limbs and locked lips onto the bed, the lessons forgotten. Tori was living in a state of pure bliss, the world outside their cabin did not exist.

But on the third day when Jade opened the door the skies were bright and clear, the snow on the ground partially melted, and Tori remembered the world outside of the cabin with a sad ball in the pit of her stomach. They packed up their saddle bags and Tori scooped up the cat, now called Trick, before making her way outside. On the way one would carry a baby she made a sack and the cat happily lay against her stomach.

"So we'll ride until we pass Trace, and stop in the next place we find after that. Rest for a few days and then ride straight to Vallestia, alright?" Jade said, Tori nodded her head as she led Calypso from her stall, hooking the gear up glumly. Once she was done she mounted the horse, adjusted the sack so that Trick could be comfortable and their journey started.

Tori didn't say much, her mind was lost in the dreams of being back inside the cabin with Jade and Trick, with not a care in the world. Jade didn't force her to speak, turning and looking back at her every so often and shaking her head sadly. It was night fall when they reached Stromhall. Tori recalled the name now as Princess Catherine's Kingdom.

By force of habit she stroked her hair and the strange blonde color came back, her eyes turning green. They rode to the Inn where the stall boy rushed out once more, he was quiet now and thanked Jade politely for their tip, but didn't speak further than that. Jade got them a room and settled herself on the bed. Tori let the cat free and looked toward the double doors, "I'll be out there…" she motioned to the door as she walked, pulling the doors open she stepped out and pulled them shut behind her.

The sun had set and torches lit the shops, the moon cast it's yellow glow across the town, and people hustled through the market to their houses. Tori leaned against the railing and exhaled. Her warm breath curled in tendrils through the air and she smiled and inhaled deeply, holding the air in her lungs for a few minutes before she slowly exhaled, the hot breath hitting the cold air and curling in front of her face.

The stars shined in the sky above her head, bright lights in the sea of midnight. She looked up at them with a fond smile and distant eyes, her mind traveled to a time not to long ago, on her bedroom balcony, looking out among the stars. She'd gone out to calm her nerves, it was warm outside, almost sticky from the days rain and the heat of the sun, but the sky was clear, and Jade came out to check on her.

_She'd looked different, Tori thought it was the full moon, the way its yellow light made her eyes appear green, and her pale skin glowed in a ghostly way. But now that she thought about it maybe it was because it was the first time she'd seen the girl outside of her tough skin. Jade came out in her nightwear her hair falling in soft curls around her face and her expression less annoyed and more concerned._

"_Are you alright?" Jade asked in a soft voice, stopping a foot away from Tori, searching her face for any signs of tears._

"_Yes, just having trouble sleeping with my mother far away." Tori replied, looking out toward the forest. Her mother had gone on a short trip to see a priestess and she would be gone for nearly a month._

_Jade nodded her head, "being away from parents is hard, but she'll be back soon." _

Jade ushered her into the house after that, but it was only now that Tori had realized the meaning of that sentence, the fact that Jade had shared something so personal with her, no matter how small, and Tori could remember the sounds of crying somewhere after her mother tucked her in when she was younger. And that night she'd heard Jade singing, Tori could still remember the words. She smiled to herself and sang under her breath.

"When the cold wind is calling and the sky is clear and bright misty mountains sing and beckon, "Lead me out into the light". I will ride, I will fly, chase the wind and touch the sky I will fly chase the wind and touch the sky." She heard the door open and stopped singing as Jade came out, "I never heard the rest of the song." She whispered to Jade.

"Where dark woods hide secrets and mountains are fierce and bold deep waters hold reflections of times lost long ago. I will hear their every story take hold of my own dream be as strong as the seas are stormy and proud as an eagle's scream." Jade sang leaning against the railing, "I will ride, I will fly chase the wind and touch the sky I will fly chase the wind and touch the sky and touch the sky chase the wind, chase the wind touch the sky."

Tori smiled, repeating the words in her head over and over until she knew she'd memorized them, at least for long enough that she could write them down later to remember for a long time, "where did you learn that song?"

"My mom." Jade replied, "she'd sing it to me when I was having a hard time doing something, or when I just needed to be cheered up. How are you feeling?" Jade asked glancing at Tori briefly before staring out toward the sky line. Tori leaned her back against the railing and exhaled.

"I'm not sure, I'm excited to get home and see my parents and be back at the castle, I've missed them like crazy, but I'm nervous. What are we going to do when we get back? Tell them about Beck and hope they believe us? What if Beck is there still-what if something bad happened to them? What if he's killed them or something horrible like that?" Tori asked, the words bubbled out of her in a rush, all of her nerves spilling into the sentence.

"They're fine." Jade stated flatly, "Beck is still there, but his parents have returned to their home. We're going to march your butt back into that castle and go on with the marriage plans and when I catch the next assassin he will tell me who hired him."

"How do you know?"

Jade simply grinned at Tori with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "doesn't matter." She straightened and stood in front of Tori and took hold of both of her hands, lacing their fingers together for no reason, Tori smiled and squeezed Jade's hands, "there's the smile I wanted to see." Jade laughed, "let's get inside and get some rest. Tomorrow we travel until we reach Brooke and we'll stop to get you cleaned up and changed before we head back into Vallestia."

"Changed?"

"I've got a surprise waiting for you. I have a very trust worthy bird on my side." She grinned and tugged Tori away from the railing, dragging her back into their room. The cat had claimed his own bed so Jade simply pulled Tori down onto the other and lay next to her, Jade hummed beside Tori until she felt the girl drift off in her arms and she untangled herself from the girl. With a quick backwards glance she swept out of the room onto the balcony and hopped gently over it onto the one beside hers, she tapped three times quickly on the door.

There was a small commotion inside and a bleary eyed guard came and opened the door, blinking at Jade for a moment before letting her inside. She slipped through the door and dusted bits of snow from her shoulders. Princess Caterina was sitting on the bed happily, braiding her hair, she smiled at Jade when she saw her.

"Leave us." Cat commanded in an authoritative voice. The guard gave Jade one more look over and slipped out the door. Cat watched the door for a moment and then turned to Jade and beamed, launching herself from the bed and throwing her arms around Jade in a hug that nearly choked the guard, "Princess! I'm so happy to see you're alright!"

Jade laughed and gave Cat a hug in return before stepping away, "so did you find her?" Cat nodded a grin stretching from ear-to-ear. Jade smiled triumphantly, "and?"

"She'll meet you guys at the Inn. Ask for Gallen. She has and outfit for Tori and some supplies for you, as well. She said she's still thinking about it but she'll tell you then. Even so I'm sure she'll be happy." Cat said, Jade nodded and glanced toward the balcony once more, "I'll see you again, Jade, at the wedding." Cat winked and Jade laughed heartily, twisting and walking from the room quickly. Cat watched her go and went to the door, letting her guard back in.

Jade hopped back onto her balcony and slipped into their room. Tori was still asleep on the bed, Trick curled up happily at her feet, his eyes burning into Jade's for a moment, making sure she was safe, and then he closed his eyes and let himself sleep too. Jade closed the doors to the balcony and returned to Tori's side, slipping onto the bed beside her.

The next morning the pair set out once more, eating a breakfast of bread and water as they traveled at a steady pace down the road, "so how long until we reach Brooke?" Tori shifted in her seat on the horse uncomfortably and groaned. She shifted the sword Jade had given her across her back and rolled her shoulders.

"Another half a day's journey, Tori." Jade laughed, turning to look back at Tori, "what's wrong?"

"My legs are stiff." She tugged gently on Calypso's reins until the horse stopped and she dismounted, choosing instead to walk beside the large horse. Jade laughed and fixed the sac with Trick in it and slowed Midnight down to a steady walk. It wasn't long after Tori dismounted that someone rode past them, Tori glanced at the pair of burly men nervously, glancing at Jade, and then turning back to them. They started to slow down and her stomach dropped.

"Go." Jade hissed, more men were coming from behind them. Tori quickly clambered back onto Calypso's back, dragging her body into the saddle haphazardly. Jade took off forward and Calypso followed without order as Tori held on, trying to right herself without falling off. The horses forced their way through the others and they moved on quickly.

"We need to split up, Jade!" Tori yelled, Jade turned and shook her head no, but the men were gaining on them, "Meet me at the Inn!" Tori called.

"Trick!" Jade yelled back, Tori searched for the cat, but he was still securely against Jade's stomach. Baffled Tori pulled on the reins and Calypso plunged into the wood, hooves pounding on the dirt. Most of the men followed her and Tori's heart jumped into her throat.

Calypso's long legs carried them faster through the woods, almost as if she knew where she was going from running the path a million times before. Soon the men were far enough behind them that Tori could no longer see them, and soon she couldn't hear them either. She breathed a sigh of relief and clung to Calypso. She knew there was no way back without facing them, but she had to be prepared for them. She dismounted and took the bridal off of Calypso, the horse started to graze on what there was of grass while Tori climbed into the tree top.

She could see the men advancing. If she could get past the men she would be free, and if she could distract them she might be able to get past most of them. She whistled to gain Calypso's attention and tossed an apple as far as she could to the right of the approaching men.

The horse trotted off after it, and created enough noise that a few of the men broke off in that direction, but not enough of them. She tried to slowly climb down the tree and get back on the ground, her foot was on a weak branch and her hands were tearing on the bark when the branch beneath her foot snapped out from under her, brittle from the cold and the air rushed past her head, but she never met the ground. There was a slight pressure on her back, and she was hovering about a foot and a half off the ground.

"I am such an idiot." She muttered under her breath, "Calypso." The horse was gone, and Tori didn't have time to be worried about it, she shot up into the trees just as the first few men broke through the line of the trees. She flew over the tops of the trees, but it wasn't enough. Someone had spotted her. A woman with dark hair and sharp eyes broke through the tops of the trees and flew with such a speed Tori had no time to react, the woman hooked her arms around her and drove her back down into the trees.

The pair hit the ground and all of the air was knocked from Tori's lungs, the world above her spun like crazy, and the woman now seemed t have two faces. Tori weakly swung at one of them, but her fist met air before the woman snatched up her wrists and pinned them above her head, "Victoria." She whispered harshly. Tori blinked a few times rapidly and suddenly the tan face was in focus. Her face was rounder than Tori remembered, and tanner, but she knew that face anywhere.

"Katrina!" her older sister released her wrists and Tori threw her arms around her neck in a crushing hug, "what are you doing here?"

"Saving your butt, apparently, and it's just Trina now." She stood and helped her sister to her feet, brushing the dirt from her legs, "where is Jade?" Tori didn't get a chance to answer, men materialized from the trees, swords drawn, and advanced on the girls. Trina sprung into action without hesitation, disarming a man and claiming his sword, Tori drew her own sword, a determined look set on her face even though her hands were shaking.

The jarring sound of metal on metal and the impact from each block vibrated up Tori's arm and made her head hurt, and as soon as she could she disarmed him, tossed her sword aside and punched her attacker in the jaw, he swung back and landed a blow on her cheek, grabbing her left arm and pulling her close. She shoved her elbow into his ribs and kicked his feet out from beneath him, he fell to the ground and another rushed to make a grab for her, picking her up from behind and tossing his sword to the ground, hauling her away from the scene. Tori kicked and struggled weakly, managing to force him to grip, she dug her nails into his flesh and hit him in the side of the head with her elbow, he dropped her to the ground and she sprung back up, elbowing his gut and grabbing the back of his head when he keeled over, she drove her knee into face and took off running.

Trina caught up with her a few minutes later, grabbed her by the wrist and took to the sky, dragging Tori behind her so fast the younger girl started to feel dizzy and was forced to close her eyes until her feet were planted firmly on the ground. When she opened them again she was back on the road beside Calypso and Midnight. Jade was checking over the horse and spun when she heard them, her sword tip against Tori's throat.

"You idiot!" Jade screamed, throwing her sword aside and grabbing Tori by the shoulders, "you could have died!" Jade's frantic eyes searched her face, her fingers ghosting over Tori's sore, bruised cheek. Tori's eyelids closed slowly, the touch seemed to melt the pain away, but only for an instant. Jade pulled her hands away from Tori's face and she turned back to the horses, "we need to get going, get back on Calypso, Trina you can ride Midnight."

Tori and Trina mounted the horses without protest, Jade flew a few yards ahead of them and nobody spoke. The pain grew into throbbing and Tori's head started to ache she was ready to sleep by the time they reached the small in and Tori swung off of the horse, passing the reins to one of the stable hands, "I'll take her to my room; you look like you could use some time to clean up, Jade." Jade nodded, but Tori thought Jade looked just fine, her face looked perfect, not even red flush from the cold, but Trina forced her up the stairs while Jade bought herself a room.

Trina opened the door to hers and held it for Tori to walk through, "You're covered in dirt, you know." Trina comments, looking at the dirt from Tori's boots on the floor, "there's a bath over there with some soap." Tori nodded her head, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she crossed over to it.

She pulled the changing screen over the tub and started to change, "you okay here alone? I want to check on Jade, she looked pretty worn down." Trina called out. She watched Tori's silhouette shrug and stepped into the hall, pushing the door closed and locking it as Jade sluggishly walked past. Trina rushed to follow the dark haired girl and caught her just before she fell to the ground, hooking her arm securely around the guards waist and stealing the key from her.

Trina unlocked the door and stepped through, dragging Jade toward the tub.. She set the girl on the edge of the tub and Jade grabbed the sides to keep from falling in, the glamour twitched and slowly faded away, revealing a bloodied and bruised face. Trina had found Jade first when the girls didn't arrive at the Inn on time. She was on the ground by a tree, having out run her attackers in a blind scramble to save her life.

Six had gotten the best of her and disarmed her, one grabbed her from behind and another beat her, to try and get whatever information about Tori out of her as they could, not expecting Jade to keep her mouth shut, as all royal guards were trained to do, "someone put a massive hit out against my sister."

"Yep." Jade groaned. Trina leaned over and filled the tub, Jade swatted the girl away, "go check on her, Trina, I can stay here and lick my own wounds. And where is Trick?" Trina stared at the guard for a moment, and Jade stared right back.

"Well if you want to die then that's fine." Trina declared, righting herself and marching out the door. A few minutes later it opened and Trick trotted in, followed by a freshly cleaned Tori. Jade still hadn't moved from her perch on the tub, her eyes were closed and her chin was rested against her chest.

"I said to leave me be, Trina."

Tori shut the door and locked it, walking over to the tub. She knelt in front of Jade and started unlacing her boots silently. Jade cracked open an eye and sighed heavily, too tired to fight Tori. Tori jerked off both of Jade's boots and helped her to her feet, pulling off her pants and then helping her yank off her shirt, Jade protesting with a loud growl when her sore shoulder twisted in the wrong direction. Tori then helped her into the tub and found a soft cloth to clean the dried blood off Jade's bruised face. Jade sighed, happy for the hot water soaking into her aching muscles.

Once the blood was cleaned from her face Tori could really see the bruises to Jade's cheek and the split lip and cut eyebrow, and the way the black bruising circled Jade's eyes, "you really should have been riding the horse, not me." Jade shrugged her good shoulder but offered no comment. Tori scowled at her but found a new cloth and some soap and handed it to Jade, before taking another cloth, soaking it, and laying it on Jade's bruised shoulder.

While Jade scrubbed her skin Tori knelt behind her and unbraided her hair, massaging soap into her hair and scalp. When she was rinsed Tori grabbed a towel and helped Jade out of the tub and over to the bed, Jade wrapped the towel around her and then collapsed onto the mattress on her stomach, completely exhausted. Trick jumped onto the foot of the bed and curled around her feet, "Go talk with your sister, I'll be alright." Jade said, "just gonna sleep."

Tori glanced at Jade and bit her lip, glancing at the door and then back to Jade, "alright." She kissed Jade's forehead and walked to the door, unlocking it and pulling it open. She paused when Jade called her name.

"Thanks." Jade whispered, "I'm glad you're okay." Tori nodded and watched Jade's chest rise and fall, slowly sinking into a steady pattern. Once she was sure Jade was asleep she slipped out the door, pulling it closed behind her and locking it with the key she'd stolen from Jade's dresser.

**The song Tori & Jade sing is Touch the Sky by Julie Fowlis from the Brave Soundtrack.**


	11. Chapter 10

**Victoria Vega is a fairy and she is next line for her Kingdom's throne, as soon as she gets married, but before her wedding someone tries to kill her and she's sent away with a body guard, Jadelyn West, until the hit is called off. When Tori finally returns will she be able to go through with the wedding or will someone else steal her heart?**

"So we'll just walk back in there? All three of us? What is mom going to say? Will she let you stay?" Tori asked. Trina shrugged one shoulder while adjusting the strap of her grey gown, securing the silver clasp on the sleeve to expose the gold band around her upper arm.

"Yes, Tori, all three of us will walk in." Jade commented, slipping in the door almost silently. Trick launched himself from her arms as soon as they were inside and she pushed the door shut, "you know you should really put on a dress, commoners clothing doesn't suit a Princess."

Trina smirked, "I'm going to go check on my horse, help her get dressed, Jade, will you?" Trina asked it as a question but Jade knew it was a well concealed order. Jade nodded in confirmation as Trina walked out of the room with her head held high, her shoulders held tight and her walk more like a glide, the perfect picture of royalty. Her long hair trailed down her back in tight curls to just above her hips, somehow styled without assistance. Trina winked playfully at Jade as she stepped out the door, Jade chuckled as she shut the door behind her.

Jade turned to Tori who was back in the clothes from a few days ago, covered in dirt and who knows what else, "You should take a bath, those clothes you're in are pretty disgusting. Just don't wash your hair again. I'll find your dress." Tori stared at Jade for a few minutes, looking for any of the cuts and bruises on her face from the night before, but there was nothing, except for a faint red line on her lip. Tori noticed that she had changed into her guards' uniform, the blue jacket with red shoulders and the navy pants with red stitching fit her form well allowing her to move, and allowing Tori to finally take in Jade's body beneath her clothing. Curved and soft. Tori smiled.

Shaking her head, Tori stepped behind the change screen, shed the clothes she was in and slipped into the warm water. She twisted her hair up and secured it with a few pins a top her head and scrubbed her skin with rose scented soap. When she was out and dried off Jade helped her into a pale blue dress. She fastened gold clasps on the sleeves and a gold belt around her waist. The dress hung in heavy draped folds and pooled on the floor around her feet.

Tori brushed her fingers over the smooth fabric with a small smile that gradually grew larger and larger, "I'm going home." She whispered her voice filled with delight as she spun in the dress to watch the way the fabric moved. Her stomach twisted and butterflies flapped around erratically inside her.

"Yes, yes, very exciting. Sit." Jade pointed at a wooden chair, Tori bit down on her lip and sat without a word.. Jade pulled most of Tori's hair over her left shoulder and began to braid the hair on the right side of her head around the back so it joined the hair on the left, stopping the braid at the back of her head and securing the pin in her hair, hiding it from sight within the other hair.

Jade pulled Tori's necklace out delicately and held it between her fingers for a moment before she let it fall against Tori's stomach, then offering Tori her hand, she pulled Tori to her feet and smiled at her, "now if more guys come to kidnap you and you run the other way and die, I will kill you." Jade teased. Tori laughed and leaned in, kissing Jade quickly before ducking her head and blushing as she pulled away.

Jade stepped forward silently and grasped Tori's chin gently, tipping her head up so her eyes met Tori's. She leaned in pressing her lips against Tori's gently, her free arm wrapping around Tori's waist as their lips slid across each other slowly. Jade pulled away first, just an inch, Tori's breath fanning across her face. Their eyes met and they held each others gaze for a moment before Jade stepped away, smoothing her hand across her braid, "we need to get going," Jade whispered, clearing her throat, "come on."

She walked over and picked the cat up from the bed, tucking him into the sack around her waist where he settled down happily. She trailed Tori down the stairs and helped her into Calypso's saddle, walking between her and Trina out of the town. She walked ahead and behind, watching for any surprise attacks. The girls idly chatted, Trina telling stories of her time with her husband, who was waiting for her word to come join them at the castle and Tori told Trina about Jade helping her with combat and learning on her own. The time flew for them and before they knew it the golden gates of Vallestia stood before them as the evening grew later.

Jade stepped up to the gate, the guard on duty recognized her instantly, "Guard Jadelyn." Andre greeted with surprise, his eyes shifting to Tori and Trina, "Princess Victoria" and then with shock, "Princess Katrina." He bowed deeply and rose slowly, turning to the guard inside the gate, ordering him to grant them access. Jade walked slowly behind with Andre at her side.

"So you leave with one princess and one horse and you come back with two princess', two horses and a cat." He laughs, Trick stares at him from within the sack, "How did you find Katrina?"

Jade smirked, "I never lost her." Jade had been sent out on a search party with Andre and the older guards, one of whom was good friends with the Princess, and agreed to let Trina remain 'lost' as long as she kept in touch with Jade. Jade passed off the cat to Andre, her face turned impassive and she stepped up to the King and Queen, taking a knee and bowing her head.

"Stand, Lady Jadelyn." She rose and met the King's gaze, "follow us, will you?"

"Of course, Your Highness." She followed silently to the King's private chambers while the queen and the princesses went off in another direction. The King held the door open for her and secured it behind her once they were inside. He went and stood by his window, his hands clasped behind his back, and she joined him.

"I took you in as a child upon your parents wishes; I would do it again. Your parents were dear friends of mine and it is a shame they are no longer with us. When your guardian dropped you with us he also delivered a note, that your parents instructed I give to you on your 17th birthday, which I missed since you were out protecting my daughter." He walked to his desk and pulled out a yellow paper with the seal of Trace holding it closed. Her name was written in her mother's pretty handwriting on the front of it.

"I will leave you for a moment to read it." He told her, she nodded and he slipped down one of the secret passageways and disappeared. Her fingers trembled as she popped the letter open. She read it once, and then once more, and then a third time for good measure. One paragraph stuck in her mind.

_You are old enough to handle this information; those who fight to take over are Kingdom, are not of truly noble blood. They call themselves the family Birch to hide their true identity, and nobody will believe us without proof, but you my dear. Their true name is Oliver, and they seek to rule over all of the land. Take this information and do with it what you believe is right._

But as far as Jade knew the Oliver's were of noble blood, related to a long lost King of some sort. She scowled and tucked the letters away in her jacket as the King re-entered the chamber, "is there anything else, my King?" she inquired.

"Yes, we have a dinner tonight, and I do not want our guests knowing of your position among my guard, please take the secret chambers to your room and change. Then help my daughters prepare."

"As you wish, Your Highness." She bowed as she slipped into the secret tunnel, hurrying toward her room. She sat down on her bed once in her room, flipping through the papers again, in case she missed anything. She hastily stuffed them beneath her when the door to her room opened. Trina and Tori walked in and closed the door behind themselves, smiling at Jade smugly.

"The Oliver's are coming for dinner." Trina commented in an offhand manner while she examined her nails, "so what's your plan for dinner?"

"Subtly accuse them of the attempted assassination of the princess?" Jade joked, "I have a plan, and it will work out in no time, for now you go reacquaint yourselves with the castle, I've got about a weeks worth of dirt to scrub off my skin and out of my hair."

"I was thinking of a relaxing time alone, actually." Trina yawned, "I'll see you tonight, Victoria, Jadelyn."

"See you tonight, Princess Katrina." Jade called, Tori opened the door for her sister and closed it once more, turning to Jade, "shouldn't you be hugging your mother and telling stories of how you missed her?" Jade teased, lighting the torches around her room before drawing the curtains over her windows.

"Very funny." Tori replied dryly, clasping her hands behind her back and circling the room, inspecting the few belongings Jade had. Jade shrugged her shoulders and began unfastening the buttons on her jacket, shrugging it off and draping it on the end of the bed. She unbuttoned her under shirt and laid it beside the jacket and turned her back on Tori, who was now watching the muscles of her back move as she unbuttoned her pants and pulled them off.

"Your skin looks like liquid ivory." Tori observed Jade tossed her pants onto the end of her bed and unpinned her hair; the dark locks fell around her head and then tumbled down her back as each pin was removed in tangled knots, "and your hair could be the night sky."

"Yes, I look like a nightwalker, I get it." Jade snapped.

"You look like a doll." Tori corrected, "I'll hang these while you bathe." Tori picked up the jacket shirt and pants and walked toward the wardrobe while Jade slipped into the tub, grabbing the bar of soap and scrubbing her skin clean, and then her hair, sinking beneath the water until the heavy hair was soaked rinsed clean. She wrapped a towel around her body and used another to dry the ends of her hair when she stepped out, Tori was sitting on her bed, toying with her necklace and staring off into space.

Jade laughed silently and stepped in front of her, bending until she was eye to eye with Tori, who blinked and shook her head as Jade came into her attention, she jumped and her cheeks turned red, "you're not supposed to be such a space case now that we're back."

"I can't help it, you're so utterly boring." Tori teased. Jade straightened up and undid her towel, tossing it into Tori's face. She laughed and tossed it aside, watching Jade make her way over to her wardrobe. She found only two dresses, one she wore to the last dinner, and the other was made out of material the colors of her kingdom. Gold and Green.

She pulled the dress and corset out and laid them on the bed, they were made of the finest fabric, she could only wonder how the green and gold entered the red and blue palace. But she didn't mind too much, having something that reminded her of home was pleasant. She slipped on her under clothes and then slipped on the dress, having Tori secure the corset around her. Of course with the corset on she only had two options for her necklaces.

Take them off or keep them on above her dress to prevent them from digging into her skin. She let them hang side by side against the laces of the corset and spun her hair around her finger as it dried. Tori walked over and pinned the top section of her hair up with a black bow.

When she was finally done with her hair it was nearly time for dinner, so she put on her shoes and followed Tori down to Trina's chambers where Andre, Robert and, surprisingly, Markus stood waiting for them. Andre escorted Tori, Markus escorted his wife, and Robert escorted Jade down to the dining hall. The Kings and Queens were already seated, by Prince Beckett stood beside his chair as the girls were walked in.

Trina sat beside her mother who was to her father's left, Tori beside Trina and Jade beside Tori. Once they were seated Beckett sat, eyeing Jade who ignored him politely, as if she hadn't noticed his staring. She made small talk with the Princess' while they dined and talked about the marriage. The King mentioned something about Jade standing beside Tori at the throne.

"Only Royals are to be a part of a wedding ceremony." Queen Oliver shrieked, Jade's eyes lifted from her plate toward the King. He lifted his eyebrow just slightly in question and Jade shrugged a shoulder.

"I am actually part of a Royal family, your highness." Jade stated casually, "and it would be my honor to stand beside my Princess as she is wed."

The Queen narrowed her beady brown eyes, "how are you related?"

"King David's brother Henry had a daughter, of course." Jade's eyes sparkled with amusement at the Queen's flustered look. Jade assumed the Queen remembered the way Jade had shoved past her with deadly speed to get outside after Tori during the ball, and perhaps she'd even witnessed her killing the assassin.

"I had no idea; you don't look related at all, my apologies, Princess." Jade fought the cringe, the way the word sounded hauntingly the same as the last night she saw her parents.

"As you know the King married to join to lands, where my mother is from people have pale skin and dark hair. I inherited those from her, instead of the bronze skin and brown hair from my father's side." The lies rolled from her lips so smoothly Tori was startled, but this had been Jade's story from the beginning, and King Henry often spoke of Jade as his daughter, who was sent off during war time for her protection. This, of course, was a lie as King Henry only had male heirs, but the Vega royalty had been close family friends of the Weston's.

"But if I do recall he introduced you with the last name Smith." The Queen pointed out, eyes glittering with triumph.

"We like to keep her presence here unknown, but since you will soon be our family we thought it was time to properly introduce you." Queen Holly interrupted politely. Jade fought the urge to grin, and instead looked down at her meal.

The rest of the meal was spent planning other things, like the cake and the gown, and then everyone parted. Jade walked Tori back to her room and had Andre stand guard inside while she wandered around the grounds. Beckett wasn't too hard to find, conspiring outside with a shady man. She hid behind a pillar and watched, unable to get close enough to hear. Once they were done talking she casually continued, like she'd been walking outside and crept behind him.

Beckett jumped into the air, clutching his chest, "Princess Jadelyn, you scared me."

"My apologies, Prince Beckett. It was not my intention, I get restless close to big events, I'm such a clumsy person, I'm terrified to trip at your wedding and embarrass the Kingdom." Jade bit on her lip like she was nervous and wrung her hands, Beckett smiled easily and put a hand on her lower back to guide her forward into the gardens.

"I'm sure you'll be just fine, you can practice a lot." Beckett replied, they walked through the garden, and Jade stopped at the fountain, silent. Beckett cleared his throat a few times, "I'm going to retire for the evening. I'll see you Sunday for the wedding." Beckett then spun and went back into the castle with quick steps. Jade smirked, looking at her brown haired reflection and touched her hair to put the glamour back on her hair.

"Sinjin, Burf, I know you're there." Jade called out. The two emerged from the shadows, they smiled at her and each embraced her.

"We've missed you, Princess. You've grown since we last played tag." Sinjin laughed, eyes obviously on her chest.

She smacked his arm, "You've killed a lot since we last played tag." Jade commented, "So what is the plan?"

"We're to attack after the marriage, at the reception party." Jade frowned, crossing her arms over her chest, "but we're supposed to go after you, too." Jade grinned, so she _had _made the Queen nervous. But if Tori were already married to Beckett that would not do, she couldn't trust that they didn't have a back up plan for the failure of this assassination attempt.

"Well, lets see if I can speed the attack time up, shall we?" she grinned and blinked her eyes, the glamour fully dropping from her. Sinjin and Burf clapped her on the shoulder and sank back into the shadows. They'd been the children of chefs in Trace, and Jade had grown up with them, playing tag in the castle and during riding lessons. They were the only children Jade knew and she often wondered what had become of them. When she'd gone to Trace to look for Tori she caught wind of two assassins looking for her, and surprised them by stepping up in front of them. Instead of killing her they'd hugged her.

She walked back into the castle whistling a tune, slowly making her way past the guest rooms, she smiled at Queen Oliver as she passed her, a big grin like she had as a child, and disappeared up a secret set of stairs just as the Queen turned in shock to get a second glance. Later that night Jade snuck out again and passed by the Queen on her way to the kitchen for some water, she smiled at her and disappeared into another hidden door way. She would never admit it out loud, but she was having fun spooking the Queen, whose eyes kept bugging out of her head comically.

Her last surprise happened before breakfast, Jade passed her on the way there in her night gown, almost bumped into her and giggled before she slipped under a staircase, changed and came out a few doors up ahead with Robert, her glamour back in place. The Queen stared at her throughout the meal and Jade pretended not to notice, but that afternoon she watched as the Queen snuck into the court yard and Sinjin and Burf appeared.

Once she got the signal that she was a target today she moved into action.

Since Tori had returned to the castle her mother had been babbling on and on about the wedding, Trina at her side, while they worked on last minute details. Tori had finally managed to escape to the secret garden and she'd spent most of the afternoon writing poetry under Andre's watchful gaze.

"You know, Andre, I can take care of myself. I'm not so helpless now." Tori commented, walking over to him with her book in her hands behind her back. He grinned at her and fell into stride with her down the stone path through the garden.

"I'm under orders from Jadelyn to watch you at all times." Andre replied, "regardless of how well you can or cannot protect yourself."

Tori snorted and instantly blushed, covering her mouth and looking away. Andre chuckled under his breath and Tori puffed out her cheeks, stopping and turning toward him, "why are you taking orders from Jadelyn anyways? From what I've heard you're now head of your own squad of men. And on the fast track to becoming a guardian."

Andre shrugged one shoulder, "Jadelyn was my first friend when I came here, she showed me the ropes and helped me catch up with the other guards. She has earned my respect and loyalty for life, so if she asks me to do something for her I take it as an order, only to be undone by my King."

"I didn't know that." Tori smiled, "I remember when you came here, all scrawny and scared. You could hardly hold a practice sword." Andre lead Tori into the castle, holding the door open for her. They talked as they slowly circled the first and second floor, stopping outside her bedroom where he took a spot by her door and let her do what she needed behind a large row of changing screens

Tori was sitting at her vanity brushing her hair out when Jade stepped into the room, "do you mind giving us a minute, Andre?" he nodded and grinned cheekily, looking between the pair before stepping out, receiving a half hearted swat on the back of the head from Jade.

Tori set the hair pin in her fingers down, "Jade? I haven't seen you in hours, what have you been doing?" she spun and pointed her hair brush accusingly at the other Princess who pushed the door closed.

"Scaring a Queen out of her skirts." Jade shrugged casually, "a hit has been placed on me. Get your parents to come out to the garden at half past noon, understand?" Tori nodded but she looked worried, "Don't worry, I have a plan."

Tori stood up and crossed over to Jade before she could run, "if you die, I'll kill you." Tori warned leaning onto her tiptoes and kissing Jade briefly. Jade pulled away with a smirk on her lips, and kissed Tori's forehead before she slipped out of the room, Andre entered moments later and grinned at Tori who swatted his arm. He hadn't been sure something was going on between them before, but now he knew.

It was almost half past noon, and Jade could hear the distant chatter of the royals, Sinjin and Burf stood before her, waiting for the perfect moment, and as soon as the backdoor creaked like it was open they jumped into action. Jade screamed, like any good Princess should, as they tackled her to the ground. The only guards around, Andre and Robert, had already been instructed to disarm and capture, not kill.

Sinjin had a knife at her throat when Andre reached her, and once he was blocking the view of the royals Sinjin eased up, Jade dropped and Andre tackled the skinny assassin to the ground as Burf made a slash at her, slicing her gown. Robert rushed to assist Andre and Jade went after Burf, grabbing the knife in his hand and spinning it around easily until she was behind him and the knife was at his throat.

King and Queen Oliver looked prepared to flee, and Beckett was trying to escape, but more guards surrounded them, they looked nervous and Jade had to fight the grin from coming to her face, "tell me who sent you." Jade growled menacingly, "now." She pushed the blade harder, but not hard enough to injure Burf seriously.

Burf made like he was struggling and managed to make the words sound forced, "I will never tell." Jade moved quickly, spinning in front of Burf and shoving him to the ground as the glamour dropped from her appearance.

"As the rightful heir to the throne of Trace I command you to tell me who sent you, and as a citizen of Trace, failure to name the person shall mean death by beheading." Burf started stuttering and out of the corner of her eye she saw Beckett trying to escape, but before she had a chance to move, Tori stuck out her foot and tripped him up, sending him sprawling to the ground, face first, within Burf's line of vision.

"Prince Beckett Birch of Trace ordered me to kill you, and Princess Victoria of Vallestia after the wedding! I had not a clue it was you, Princess! Please forgive me" Burf pleaded, as if he was really scared of Jade, dropping to her feet in submission. It didn't take any more accusations, the guards rounded up Beckett, his mother and his father. As soon as they were out of sight Jade helped Burf to his feet and returned his knife, patting Sinjin on the back before she went to talk to Andre about going with the prisoners, Robbie followed him without question, leaving the Vega's and Jade in the garden alone.

"You idiot. You ruined a perfectly good dress." Tori snapped, "do you know how expensive that thing is? Grass stains and a slash in it? I cannot believe you were ever a princess."

Jade rolled her eyes, "Nice footwork, Princess."


	12. Chapter 11

**Victoria Vega is a fairy and she is next line for her Kingdom's throne, as soon as she gets married, but before her wedding someone tries to kill her and she's sent away with a body guard, Jadelyn West, until the hit is called off. When Tori finally returns will she be able to go through with the wedding or will someone else steal her heart?**

They'd been back at the castle for a week, Jade had resumed her training with the royal guard and Tori was back on her Queen training, but madly trying to convince her mother and father that Trina should take the throne, as she rightfully should. There were days when the Vega's would be cooped up in their meeting chambers and not seen until nightfall.

Jade's section of the guard had been out for a training exercise for about two weeks in preparation for the choosing ceremony where Trina and Tori would have their guardian's named. Jade had returned in the middle of the night, along with the other guardians, and dragged herself into her bath and collapsed in her bed.

She was still asleep early the next morning when Tori got up. She was on her way to breakfast when she saw Andre and Robert pass by her. They stopped when she squealed and dashed down the hall almost silently; shoving open the large mahogany door to Jade's chambers and scanning the room. The girl was on her bed, dead to the world.

Tori slammed the door shut as loud as she could as warning and launched herself onto the bed. Jade rolled over as Tori landed next to her, "Good morning Princess." Jade greeted, "what are you doing in here just barely after dawn?"

"I saw Robert and Andre in the hall, I've missed you. I've got news." She chirped excitedly, "should I wait until you're awake?"

"Mmm, no. Talk while I get dressed." She stretched slowly and then rolled out of her bed, padding over to her wardrobe and pulling out her best uniform while Tori told her about everything she'd been holding back for a few weeks.

"And they've decided that Trina will take the throne, not me." Jade looked over at Tori who was staring at her expectantly.

"That's wonderful, so now you'll be able to be married off to some other Kingdom." Jade retorted, "you should get ready for the ceremony, Tori."

Tori stared at Jade with confusion, something was wrong with the girl. Tori watched as Jade pulled off her night shirt and shrugged on her jacket, "are you okay?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Princess." She did up her buttons and pulled her hair back at the nape of her neck before putting on her boots and lacing them up, "you really should get ready for the ceremony."

"Not until you tell me what's wrong." Tori protested standing and following Jade as she crossed the room. Jade lifted an eyebrow in challenge; Tori placed her hands on her hips in defiance.

"Then stay in here, I don't care." Jade squared off her shoulders and walked out, leaving her door hanging open. Tori sighed and sunk down on Jade's bed, staring at the door confused. She dropped her head into her hands and exhaled one more time before sitting up and glancing around the barren room.

Jade had a four poster bed with curtains, a vanity and her wardrobe, her bath was tucked into the corner behind a change screen. Her jewelry box sat out on her vanity, it was open. Tori stood from the bed and went to inspect it. Inside Jade's mother's necklace were tucked away safely among her families jewelry. Tori closed the box and picked it up, walking to Jade's wardrobe, she tucked it away safely.

A few of her servants made her a little weary and she had a feeling Jade meant to put the box away. Once it was tucked away Tori left the room and went down to finally get her breakfast. Once she was done she was rushed back upstairs with her chambermaid. She bathed, and her hair, which was now waist length, was brushed and curled around some cloth to create curls and the top half was dragged up and pinned with a rose.

She got into yet another dark blue gown; this one went to her ankles and only had one layer so it hung close to her body. She was given slipper shoes and her necklace was pulled out of the dress so it hung against her stomach, and then she was escorted by her chambermaid to the balcony where her sister, brother in law and parents sat. She took her chair at the end of the row and looked down over the assembled members of the royal guards.

Tori did not see Jade anywhere.

She glanced at Trina who was still searching the crowd, but there wasn't a sign of Jade anywhere in the crowd. With a saddened sigh she listened to her father's speech before the Royal Guard Captain took the mike. Tori wasn't listening to anything, instead she was watching a black head of hair moving through the crowds.

She grinned happily, but only for a moment, "Sir Robert Shapiro, Sir Andre Harris, please come forward." She'd been hoping for months by some fluke that Jade would become her guardian anyways, not that she minded Robert or Andre, but she was just hoping.

Robert became Trina's guardian, and Andre became Tori's, "now I would like to promote a few others onto the official royal guard." He listed off name after name, but Jade's was never mentioned, however the black head of hair belonged to another, male, guardian who was joining the royal guard. Once the ceremony was over the guard and guardians along with the rest of the Nobel's went to a ball.

Tori usually looked forward to these things, but as she was pulled into a dance she found herself wishing someone else was leading her around the dance floor. Not that the Royal Guard Captain, Darren, wasn't a good dancer or unattractive, but she just wished Jade would show up.

As more guests showed up and were announced Tori gave up hearing Jade's name shouted across the room, and soon her mind was preoccupied with Trina and the talk of her coronation, and then she heard it, "Presenting, Her Royal Highness, Queen Jadelyn Weston of Trace." Tori dropped the fabric in her hand and turned to the stairs where Jade was standing with Darren at her side.

She was in a golden dress with a green sheer material over the skirt, her hair was twisted elegantly over one shoulder and fell to her hip in a mass of light brown curls and her green eyes shinned as she took in the ballroom, smiling when she found Tori. She moved down the stairs as Tori moved across the room with as much haste as she could, stopping at the foot of the stairs as Jade took the last step down and Guardian Darren drifted off to the left.

"Good evening, Your Highness." Tori dipped her head slightly. Jade dipped her head slightly but otherwise ignored her, walking off with Guardian Darren. Tori stared after her trying to keep from looking sad and pathetic. Andre helpfully saved her by stepping up beside her and leading her onto the dance floor.

"She's in a very risky place right now, Princess, don't take it personally that she ignored you." Andre whispered, "She'll be leaving as soon as the ball ends with Darren so she can restore Trace to what it used to be."

"Darren…is he her Guardian?" Tori asked, turning to where Jade was dancing with him, grinning like a gleeful child.

"He is, he came here with her, and became a guard. He's the reason you didn't get a guard when you were a child, it's hard to give a child a guardian because they will get old while the royal is in their prime, so you get one at the age you get your wings, one who is around your age. It's very logical."

Tori nodded and when the band changed their song she stepped out of the house and into the garden, Andre a respectful distance away, to make sure she was in no danger. Tori stayed outside until the guests had all but vanished. Andre sat beside her and put his hand nervously on her shoulder, "we should go inside. You're going to need your rest for these next few weeks." Tori nodded her head slowly and followed Andre inside.

A year later Tori sat in Jade's old bedroom which had now become hers, her old room now belonged to Trina's son James. She'd finally moved the last of her clothes in and she was exhausted so she curled up on the bed and wrapped around the feather pillow. This is where Andre found her awhile later, asleep in her dress, hair falling across her face a few strands blowing with her breath.

"Tor, up!" he grabbed a pillow from the end of the bed and tossed it into her face. She sat up and narrowed her eyes at him, "you said you wanted to train, get your lazy bones up." He turned and opened her wardrobe, grabbing the pair of trousers folded up on the bottom of it with a tunic and tossing them at her, "hair up, and hurry it up. I'll meet you in the courtyard."

He walked out onto the balcony and flew down to the courtyard. Tori scowled but sat up, pulling off her dress and on the shirt and pants, she braided her hair along the sides and then combined those into one really long braid that swung down to the bottom of her spine.

She put on a pair of boots and walked out to the balcony. She glanced left and found that the curtains were drawn over James' windows, with a grin she stepped up onto the balcony railing and jumped off, her wings came out and caught her about halfway down so she landed gracefully on the ground beside Andre.

They walked silently into the trees so they wouldn't be bothered. They stayed out until well into the night and marched back up to the castle with their arms linked, laughing like crazy. Tori was covered from head to toe with dirt and the braids in her hair were frizzy and loose but still holding up.

"You should go get a bath, Princess. And try to sleep tonight." She shrugged her shoulders and took happily to the air, landing gracefully inside her room and closing her eyes as her wings folded back in. She closed the doors and pulled the heavy drapes across them before pulling off the shirt and pants, folding them and tucking them away again.

She filled up the bath and dragged the screen across the tub, grabbing a towel and her soaps she slid into the tub, the dirt lifting away and turning the water a murky brown color. She rinsed the water over her skin, emptied it and then refilled it so she could enjoy a nice soak. The warm water soaked into her muscles, reliving the tension in her back and allowing her to relax fully. She undid her hair and slipped under the water for a few minutes. She soaped up and rinsed off.

When she was done she dried off, emptied the tub and dressed in her nightgown, crawled onto her bed and rested her chin on her pillow,and stared at the wall. She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, she felt sleepy but she didn't want to sleep just yet, but not even five minutes later she was out.

When she woke the next morning it was to the sound of a crying baby, and it didn't seem to be coming to an end anytime soon. She rolled out of her bed and stumbled toward the door, yanking it open and walking over to the baby's room. James was lying in his crib throwing a tantrum. She walked over and scooped him up cradling him against her chest and rocking him gently until he stopped screaming.

"Now lets find your momma so you can have some breakfast." She murmured, walking out the door with him. She found Trina stumbling tiredly toward the room, "look James, it's momma!"

Trina held her arms out and they passed the baby between them, "sorry sis."

"Not a problem, your Highness." Tori grinned and walked back to her room to get ready for the day. Dressed in a simple blue shirt, dark pants and some slippers with her hair braided down the sides and then hanging loose down her back she headed down to the kitchen and grabbed a piece of bread, some water and an apple. She ate the bread as she walked outside and handed the apple to Calypso who finished it in two bites.

When she was done Tori draped the blanket over her back, put on the saddle and hooked the bridle and reins onto her, boosting herself up into the saddle she directed the horse outside where she led her around the small track like she did everyday, but today was different. Andre met her on her way back to the stables.

"Your mom put me in charge of getting you out of this funk." Andre tossed a bag at me and led his horse off toward the town. Tori sighed and turned Calypso around to follow Andre through the town. Since it was early in the morning only a few towns' people were outside.

"Where exactly am I going?"

"To visit some neighboring Kingdoms, test some suitors." Andre replied with a shrug. Tori scowled at his back but followed silently through the town and out onto the main road. They traveled for the day and ended up at the castle of Princess Catherine, who was bouncing with joy at the sight of her, hugging her with everything she was worth.

"You could marry my brother! He's a bit weird but he's okay. We could be sisters! Until I have to move away…" she deflates for a moment and is babbling again, leading Tori through the halls of the castle. They get assigned their guest rooms for the night and then Tori spends a few hours with Cat's brother, who is down right insane. As soon as she can she flees from his sight to hide in her guest room before dinner.

The next day they set out again, and five hours into their journey Tori realizes they're not going to the next Kingdom over, home of Princess Daniel, but to Trace, "Andre…"

"She told me to get you out of your funk; she didn't tell me how I should." Andre shrugged one shoulder and directed his horse toward the gates of Trace. The streets were cleaner now, the people looked friendlier and much happier. It was a great sight to see as they rode up to the palace entrance. Sinjin and Burf stood guard, the smiled at Victoria when the spotted her, and bowed before opening the gates for her and Andre.

The pair dismounted and walked their horses to the front steps, a pair of stable hands rushed over to take the horses, leaving before they could be tipped. Darren was waiting for them at the gate and greeted them happily, clapping Andre on the back after bowing to Victoria. He led them through the castle, giving them a grand tour with enthusiastic explanations of certain architecture. He paused by the garden doors.

"Princess Victoria, I believe you'll find the Queen outside." He gestured to the open doors. Tori didn't need to be told twice, she slipped out the door into the gardens happily. Jade was easy to find, sitting near the fountain singing that familiar song.

"It's hard to sleep without hearing that song at night." Tori commented, stepping up next to the bench. Jade looked up at her and smiled, "I've missed you, Jadelyn."

Jade stood up without a word and stepped up to Tori, eyes searching her face as if she was planning to create a map to memorize every inch of it, and then she reached up and cupped Tori's face with one hand, pulling Tori closer and she leaned in, kissing her slow to savor the moment. Tori's arm wrapped around Jade's back and she pulled her closer, leaning into the kiss which quickly turned from savoring to passionate.

Tori's heart beat painfully in her chest and she gasped for breath when they broke apart, "I've missed you, Tori." Jade whispered, "I'm sorry about what happened, I shouldn't have ignored you, I hated doing it."

Tori smiled, "it's alright, I understand. But if you ever do it again…" she trailed off, trying to sound threatening, but to Jade, Tori was about as threatening as a wet puppy. She tugged on Tori's arm and pulled her in once more, kissing her quickly.

Jade took Tori on a short tour of garden before dragging her up to her bedroom where they sat and talked for hours, until Jade was called away for some Queen thing, she paused in the doorway on her way out, "I'm so glad you came, Tori." She smiled before she walked out, following Darren. Tori stayed in Jade's room, finding a book from the shelf, she curled up in a chair beside her bed and read until Jade came back.

"I'm going to take a bath before dinner." She told Darren before shutting the door in her face. When she turned around she spotted Tori, curled up in the chair. She was staring at Jade with a dopy smile on her face, "help me undo this corset please. I feel like I'm being crushed."

Tori laughed setting the book aside and unfolded from the chair, crossing over to Jade. Her thin fingers quickly undid the laces and the corset fell off. Jade tossed it aside and started peeling off layers while Tori watched her move about the room, leaning against Jade's bed. When Jade noticed she tossed her last piece into Tori's face, laughing, as she slipped behind the change screen.

Tori batted at the material and took a few steps back, tumbling and landing on the bed, she huffed and kicked the offending garment away before laying back on Jade's bed, "Andre's been dragging me from one end of the world to the other because my mom wants me to find a suitor, so I can marry and be off on my way. It's really ridiculous, now she wants me gone because I'm not running the kingdom?"

"Yeah, that's kinda what happens to Princesses that don't take over their Kingdom's, Vega." Jade retorted, Tori frowned, hating even the briefest thought of marrying some man in a far off kingdom. She'd heard stories, and they weren't always pleasant.

"Maybe I should run away and marry a commoner like Trina." Tori joked.

"You could always run away and stay here." Jade commented. Water sloshed around and the towel disappeared from the top of the change screen, Jade stepped out from behind it, toweling the ends of her hair, "I could use someone else besides Darren around."

Tori propped herself up on her elbows, "as if I could just come live here."

"You could, all you'd have to do is come here and stay, find a room and clean it up, and then you're here to stay." Jade crossed the room, tossing the towel onto the bed. Tori rolled over to watch her.

"Are you serious?"

Jade turned around and gave Tori a look that said 'of course you idiot stop questioning it' and then returned to looking through her wardrobe. Eventually she found a gown and with some help from Tori she got dressed and the pair headed down to dinner.

Two days later Andre was setting out alone to deliver the news to the King and Queen that their daughter would not be returning for awhile. But he knew it was no secret, after all it was the Queen's plan to send Tori to see Jade, in the hopes she'd stay with the new queen and quit sulking around the castle.

A week and a half later some of Tori's things were delivered and packed away in the room beside Jade's, though Tori spent most of her time in Jade's room, reading her books and when she was there, talking to Jade, singing with her and spending as much time as she possibly could with Jade.

It took two months of Jade being busy with Kingdom work for Tori to get home sick, she'd spend nights on the balcony looking at the stars and wishing she were at home with her mother, snuggled up in her bed. But this night she couldn't stand to sit on the balcony for too much longer, Jade was still not back, and she was lonely and bored. She flew down to the stables, startling a stable hand, and headed for Calypso's stall.

The large horse was happy to see her and even happier to stretch it's legs in the forest behind the castle. Tori stayed out for an hour, admiring the woods and relishing the feeling of running free through the woods. She stayed out until the sun was back in the sky, and then she took Calypso back to the stables and flew back to Jade's balcony, feeling a lot better than she had before she left.

When she stepped into Jade's room the girl appeared in front of her, grabbing her shoulders and checking her all over for injuries, "Jade what the hell are you doing?" Tori asked, swatting away her worrying hands.

"Making sure you're okay! Where the hell were you?" Jade's anger caused something deep within Tori to ignite and her hands balled into fists and she stepped closer to Jade.

"Where was I? Where were _you_? I had to find something to do since you're never here!" Tori yelled.

"That's not fair." Jade growled, "I'm running a Kingdom, I can't be here to baby sit-."

"You don't need to baby sit me, Jade! I'm not useless, in fact as far as running a Kingdom goes I'm more qualified than you are!" Tori screamed back, "In case you're forgetting you spent your years learning how to fight, I spent mine learning how to run a Kingdom, so who should really be baby sat in this situation?"

That deflated Jade quickly, "I'm sorry Tori, it's just when I got back and you weren't here…" she sighed and turned away, mumbling something under her breath that Tori didn't hear.

"What was that?" Tori stepped closer, putting her hand on Jade's shoulder to turn her around.

"I was afraid you'd gone home." Jade repeated allowing Tori to turn her, "I was worried you'd gone and left me too."

Tori frowned, "I'd never leave, Jade, I love it here. I love being here with you, but I get bored and I can't just sit around this room all day or I might as well go home, I love you, I'd never leave."

Jade's face went from sad to confused to happy in seconds, "you love me?" Jade whispered.

"Of course I love you, you idiot. Do you think I'm sticking around for the great company of your sheets?" Tori joked.

"Well my sheets do help us have some good times." Tori's face flamed red and she smacked Jade's shoulder, Jade rubbed it gently, grinning, "I love you, Tori." Tori smiled and stepped up to Jade, giving her a short but slow kiss.

"I know." Jade smiled at her, pulling her closer and walking backwards towards her bed, Tori followed willingly.

**The End.**

**I had lots of fun writing this story, but now it's come to an end. Special thanks to Amber (AjAwkwardSauce) for editing a lot of these chapters. **


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